New Recruit
by musiclover981
Summary: Amara Castile wanted to keep a low profile as a SHIELD agent, but things don't always go the way we plan them especially when you're not an average agent. Her unique abilities and troubled past seem to attract trouble. Amara must put it all aside when she gets a call to step up and save the world from evil and join the Avengers. Captain America x OC and Hawkeye x Black Widow
1. Prologue

Prologue

~Three Years Ago

I slowly began to open my violet eyes. I took a deep breath as I stared at the blank wall of my cell. My hands slowly traced the collar around my neck that restricted the use of my powers.

"My name is Amara Chloe Castile. I lived in the island nation of Clatoo for thirteen years. My parents and I lived there to help the nation as part of an American relief group. At least until I was taken by HYDRA. I've been here for a long time. I don't know where I am, or why I am here." I whisper to myself.

I turn around at the sound of a clank on the floor. A small tray of food sat, waiting for me. I pushed my dirty blonde hair behind my ears as I slowly made my way to the door. I quickly grabbed the tray and returned the bed and ate in silence.

I sat under the tiny bit of sunlight that was able to reach my cell. This was the only thing that ever gave me hope of being free of this place.

I set my tray down as I ducked under the view of the cameras in my cell as I created a small ball of light at the tip of my finger. I slowly carved another tally mark on the wall next the multiple I had made.

I began making these marks the day I learned this power was awakened. HYDRA had no idea they unlocked this gift. As much I wanted to use it to free myself, I knew I wouldn't get far because of the multitude soldiers who'd gladly use the electrocution feature on the collar.

Unfortunately, they wouldn't be able to kill me. So I would have revealed my ace in the hole for nothing. I needed someone to find me. Although, anyone who would is gone now.

Suddenly, I heard gunshots being fired. I tried to reach the tiny window in my cell the get a better look. I quickly decided against that. Who ever this is may be even worse than HYDRA. I will not be a weapon for anyone.

Eventually the battle noises became louder as the fight moved inside. The sounds slowly decreased as one side was winning the battle. This was replaced by the sound of the other empty cells being opened. _'No!'_

I barely had time to register what was going on when the metal man appeared in the doorway. "No! No! No!" I screamed as I resisted his attempts to grab me. They warned me this day would come.

HYDRA had been working on a type of mind control for me. They always told me when it was done I'd be taken. They created this machine to take me away. "Calm down, I'm here to help you." it tried to convince me.

Soon it grabbed me and took me out of the cell as I struggled. Before we could get too far, 6 HYDRA soldiers appeared before us. _'They must be escorts'_

Then, the metal man did the unthinkable, he fired a blue beam at them. I looked at him in shock. _'He was telling the truth.'_

He managed to take out most of them but, one tried to sneak up on him. Without thinking I fired a ball of light about the size of an acorn at the soldier.

This move succeeded in two things: first he was now on the ground unconscious and second one guy who was still in the fight activated the sedative function of the collar. My supposed savior punched him in the face ending all our opposers.

"Get this collar off of me. Please. If you are truly here to help remove it." I say already feeling the sedatives in my system.

"A concentrated EMP blast should turn it off." He said as he shot a small blue light at the collar shorting it out and making it fall off. I smiled weakly as he helped me walk.

"Who are you? How did you find me?" I ask as my eyes became heavier as I fought to stay awake.

"You really haven't heard of me? I'm Iron Man. SHIELD hired me to track a hacker. I was able to find the location of the hacker despite the advanced encryption used and an SOS with coordinates. I'm guessing you did all of this?" Iron Man explained to me as we reached a large ship.

Iron Man was completely supporting me by this point. I nodded weakly as two men approached us and tried to help me in. I began to panic again. I cowered into Iron Man's grip as he waved them off.

As far as I was concerned he was the only one I could trust. Once we were aboard he never left my side. He was the last thing I saw as I finally lost consciousness.


	2. Avengers Protocol Part 1

Avenger's Protocol Part 1

~Present Day~

"Your next training exercise is to scale that building using only these grappling hook. Got that Wilson. Castile." Nick Fury ordered my best friend and fellow trainee Sam Wilson and me. We both nodded as we shot off the grappling hooks and took off.

"Looks like Fury's in a great mood this morning." I say sarcastically once we're out of earshot.

"Quiet Amara, do you really wanna tick off the guy who's the boss of us?" Sam replies as we continue climbing. Once we reach the top, we see rope. Instantly we share a look knowing he expects to go back down.

"Just once I'd like to be in the action. You know, making a difference."

"You and me both." He agreed as we headed down. _'Maybe one day'_

Just as we were half-way down, a small mechanical orb appeared. As it opened up a hologram of Iron Man appeared. "Whatever you're doing, I bet it's nothing compared to this. Get to the mansion ASAP. Your team is waiting." The hologram said as it vanished. _'This is awesome!'_

Sam and I looked at each other grinning. "Agents Wilson and Castile! I was told you were tied for top of your class! So why am I watching you just hang out there like Spider-Man after a late night?" Fury shouted as we hurried down. "Wilson, Castile, what's gotten into you?" He called out.

"Sorry Director Fury. We just got a call to the big leagues." Sam said to our boss as we dashed off.

"Big leagues? And what do you two think is bigger than SHIELD?" Fury mocked as I rolled my eyes. _'Whatever Tony has in mind it has to be better than this'_

* * *

Once we made it to the mansion we headed to the one place we had gotten to know well these past few months. "JARVIS, we're here." I called out.

"I am completely geeking out that Tony sent a probe for me." Sam added.

"I think you mean us." I state giving him a look.

"Right that's what I meant."

"Sure fanboy. Whatever you say." I tease earning a look. Sam walked to the area with Tony's supply of armors, while I walked to a different part of the lab.

"Mr. Stark recommends you should wear the War Machine Armor, Mr. Wilson. While Ms. Castile wears the Stealth Armor." JARVIS stated as two pods opened up in front of us. _'Stealth Armor? Really Tony'_

"War Machine? I don't think so. I think it's time to give Project Red Wing its first test run." Sam responded closing that pod and walking to another revealing the Red Wing Armor.

"I know Tony means well but, I think I'll stick with my modified suit." I state closing the pod and opening another revealing an off-black sleeveless catsuit, off-black elbow-length fingerless gloves, with dark purple wrist bands, and off-black rocket boots with dark purple accents. "Besides he'll want to know how well the modified fabric holds up." I begin to leave the room to change.

"Arrogant and pigheaded. You'll make fine Avengers." JARVIS commented.

After I changed I came back in to see Sam had already changed into the armor. "Armor looks good." I state as I go to grab some weapons that I place in the pockets of a belt before I put it on.

"JARVIS can you send us Tony's coordinates?" Sam asked as I finished putting on a dark purple chocker.

"Already done sir." the computer stated. I placed on my dark purple computerized tinted sunglasses.

"Got 'em. Let's go." I say as I head for the exit with Sam close behind.

* * *

We both flew away to wherever it was Tony needed us. Eventually, we found ourselves in the arctic. "I think I see the place." I say as we swoop down avoiding enemy fire. Once we arrived in the building, Sam radioed Tony.

"Iron Man, we're here and the suit is awesome." my friend said as we flew through.

"Hit Captain America hard." Iron Man ordered.

"What?!" We both exclaim. _'Isn't he one of the good guys? But if we have to I might as well do it'_

"Throw me! Nothing hurts more than a punch from me at mach-speed." I order as Sam grabs me and hurls me straight at Captain America. My fist made contact with him, knocking him off his feet. I stood over him once I landed. _'That was awesome!'_ Before he could get up I made my way to Iron Man.

"Please tell me there was a good reason for that. I've always wanted to meet the Captain and throwing my genetically enhanced best friend at him is not a way to meet your hero." Sam complained.

"He does have a point." I add.

"Brain switch. And I thought I was your hero." Iron Man responded bitterly. "What happened to the War Machine Armor and Stealth Armor?" he asked. _'Here we go'_

"The Falcon Armor is cooler." The newly named Falcon answered.

"Falcon. Works for me."

"Sounds like the fake hasn't had enough yet." I state as I hear him trying to make a sneak attack. He threw Captain America's shield right at Falcon and me. We both dodged it. Just before it could hit the wall, a large green hand caught it. The rest of the wall was pulled apart to reveal the rest of the Avengers.

"Cap?" Hawkeye called out confused.

"Not Cap. Trust me." Iron Man answered.

"Who're the birdman and miss dark sunglasses?" the archer was readying an arrow at us. _'Like he's one to talk'_

"They're Sam Wilson and Amara Castile, S.H.I.E.L.D trainees. Been moonlighting for Tony in secret for months." Black Widow revealed. We each exchanged a look not sure how to respond. _'How did she know that?'_ "It's what I do. By the Way." she added as a hologram of Director Fury appeared on her wrist.

"You're fired, Wilson. You too Castile." Fury shouted before the hologram disappeared. "Welcome to the Avengers." Widow said.

"Uh...thanks." We both responded in shock. Soldiers began to close in on our location.

"Power restored. That's the stuff. System's finally restored. That means Avengers assemble!" Iron Man called out.

"Hulk,Thor keep MODAK off balance. If he can't concentrate he can't take me out. Widow, Hawkeye get Cap into the brain switcher thing. Falcon, Amara make that thing work. The Skull is mine." he ordered.

"That an acceptable plan Mr. Hawkeye?" Iron Man questioned.

"I'll let you know when it works." Hawkeye responded. With that said we were off.

Falcon and I reached the console after getting past a few soldiers. Falcon punched a soldier in the face before it could reach me. From the spot we were at I noticed some soldiers about to get the real Captain America. I raised my hands up as I created balls of light in my hands and launched them behind him. _'Never thought I'd actually be saving Captain America's butt'_

"Brain swapper's online but, not for long." I informed Iron Man as he restrained the fake Cap.

"It took a lot of damage when you pulsed it." Falcon continued.

"Consider it on the job training and make it happen." Tony responded as we got to work. The Super Soldier stood in his place in the machine.

"Finish it would you kid." Captain America ordered as Falc turned the machine on as I pulled the lever. Finally the job was done as Cap was back in his body. "Much better. Thank you." He said looking at us. "Although I think you may have actually bruised me with that ace left hook of yours." Cap said looking straight at me slightly rubbing his jaw.

"Sorry about that. Sometimes I forget my own strength." I apologize. _'Smooth Amara. Real smooth.'_

"Ace. I think it suits you." Falcon said placing a hand on my shoulder as I grin at him. _'Hmm...Ace. I can live with that'_ Iron Man picked up Captain America's shield and walked over to return it to him.

"No one messes with one of our own and gets away with it." Tony said.

"Avengers forever." he replied.

"Don't dislocate your shoulder patting yourself on the back, fearless leader." Hawkeye comments to Iron Man.

"Leader? All these years. All these battles and I've been going about it wrong. Thank you Stark, for showing me what I must become. MODAK!" Red Skull stated ominously before calling out to the other villain. The technopath rose up and unleashed a large force field. Tony's suit began coming apart slowly.

"Tony!" I shouted as the rest of the Avengers and I rushed to destroy the field surrounding him. I powered up my light balls to help break it down as everyone gave it all they had. _'Come on. Come on!'_

"If I cannot have his body, then I will take yours." Red Skull said as the armor was completely off Tony's body. MODAK then pulled off Tony's arc-reactor.

"Iron Man!" Cap cried out. _'No!'_

"Iron Man is no more. Long live the Iron Skull!" Red Skull exclaimed as the armor moved onto him as Tony fell. After much effort we were able to destroy the force field. Just before we could catch MODAK and Red Skull, they teleported away. I stood over Tony along with Captain America and Falcon.

"Cap...remember how far I went to get your butt outta the fire...your turn." Tony whispered before losing consciousness. _'This can't be happening'_

* * *

 **Hey guys! Hope you like this new chapter. Sorry if this chapter wasn't what you were looking for, Marvel's Avengers Assemble was not on the list so I had to put it under Avengers Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Please no flames but, constructive criticism is welcome.**


	3. Avengers Protocol Part 2

Avengers Protocol Part 2

After what happened to Tony we needed to get him out of there. Hulk made us a hole to the surface. Once he was out he grabbed Hawkeye and Black Widow and threw them out while Falcon and I flew out. After I landed, Captain America was making his way out carrying Tony.

"Stay with me Stark." Cap spoke to Tony.

"How's a guy supposed to pass out in peace with you yelling like that." he mumbled. _'Always joking in the face of danger'_

"I'd prefer if you stayed awake, Ton." I state as Captain America laid him on the ground.

"Sorry Mari, can't help it." He responded just as Falcon landed.

"How's he holding up Falcon?" Captain America asked. Sam activated the scanner on his suit.

"If he was a car he'd be-"

"A really cool sports car." Tony remarked interrupting Falc.

"Running on fumes. He needs medical attention and tech. Where's the Quinjet?" Falcon finished.

"There, there and there." Hulk answered gesturing all around us. _'Great. Just great.'_

"MODOK and the Red Skull met our arrival enthusiastically." Thor added as another jet appeared.

"I brought my own ride. Just promise not to rip the leather." Black Widow stated from inside the jet. We all hurried inside the small flying vehicle.

* * *

"Crowded in here." Hawkeye complained.

"Deal with it. There's a hospital twenty minutes away." Widow responded.

"A hospital won't cut it. Tony's armor was the only thing keeping him alive." I say as I scanned him with my glasses.

"Take me to the mansion." Tony ordered.

"You sure? I don't know if that'll be possible." Falcon responded.

"Welcome to the big leagues Ace and Falcon. Impossible is what we do." Captain America stated. _'This just has to work. I can't loose him'_

"Hey big guy? Don't you think something might be going between new girl and Tony? They seem pretty close." Hawkeye whispered to Hulk.

"Hulk not care." he replied bluntly. _'Excuse me?'_ I thought as I heard everything with my enhanced hearing.

I shifted from Tony's side to get right in the archer's face. "Three things. One: New girl has a name. It's Ace or Amara. Two: I also have enhanced hearing so I don't recommend talking behind my back. Three: Not that it's any of your business but, Tony is like a brother to me. He always has and always will.

I know you've all probably looked at my file. Tony saved me that day so now I wanna help save him. I'm gonna save my surrogate brother." I responded. Everyone looked at me in slight fear except Sam and Tony. I ignored it as I walked back to my place.

Oblivious to what transpired inside, Thor created a wind tunnel that we followed him through. As our speed picked up we each braced for impact. Tony turned to Falcon.

"Do I know how to pick a team or what?" he remarked before passing out.

"Tony? Tony!" Cap and I call out.

"His vitals are dropping fast!" Falc informed us. Almost immediately, we crash landed outside the mansion.

"Practice landing much, Natasha?" Hawkeye commented once we were outside. _'Does he ever not say anything?'_

"The lab go." Cap states carrying Tony over his shoulder. We rushed inside to get Tony back on his feet. Falcon and I immediately got to work as soon as we reached the lab.

"Try not to die on my first day as an Avenger, Tony." My best friend said as he placed the last wire in the space Tony's reactor once was. Falcon nodded to me as I flipped the switch starting the process.

"Come on Tony!" I cried out. _'I_ _hope this works'_

"That was something I would never wanna do again. Thanks for not electrocuting me on your first day as Avengers Sam and Amara." Tony said after he sat up and looked at both of us.

"Great work Ace. Falcon." Captain America congratulated both of us.

"Could you say that again into my phone? I wanna make it my ringtone." Sam asked.

"Too far Sam. Too far." I say patting his back.

"Rookies. JARVIS, the Mark-50 if you please." Tony called out. "Sir the Mark-50 is not ready." The computer informed. "JARVIS. The Mark-50." he ordered. The lab began to open up as a structure came up.

"Sam, Amara. Thank you." Tony said with a smile as he stood on the structure. "See I can be nice if I almost die." He continued on.

"Does this mean we get Avengers membership cards?" Falcon asked while I rolled my eyes.

"Just what we need a Stark fanboy with delusions of grandeur." Hawkeye remarked. "Any idea what Stark's up to?"

"Nothing I've ever worked on." Falcon responded.

"Me either." I admit.

"The Mark-50. In theory it's more effective than any of my arc-reactor models." Iron Man explained as he put on the new armor. As he moved his arm, he fired an attack which created a hole in the wall.

"In theory equals untested." Hawkeye observed.

"Details. I'll work it out. As soon as I knock the red out of Red Skull" he reassured.

"You mean we." Cap added.

"I didn't say we" Tony clarified.

"I know this one. It comes right before 'it's not you it's me' " Black Widow stated ticked off.

"Look I activated the Avengers Protocol because I thought you were gone Cap but, now that your back, I didn't croak. Wins all around. So back to the grind right." Iron Man elaborated. _'He's_ _not serious, is he?'_

"Seriously, you rebooted the Avengers just so you could break us up! Unbelievable!" Hawkeye huffed before walking out with Black Widow close behind.

"And people wonder why I hate people." Hulk remarked.

"Mortals." Thor commented as the duo left as well.

"You're serious? After what we just survived?" Cap pressed on.

"Looks that way." Iron Man responded.

"Explain. If you give me any of that Stark talk, I'll knock you of that armor myself."

"I led the Avengers for a day and I almost lost everyone." Tony wasn't looking at any of us.

"So you're scared? We all get scared and we push through-"

"Cap I'm not afraid of what'll happen to me. The Skull and MODOK almost got all of you. What if I lead you somewhere and I can't bring you back." Tony elaborated cutting off Cap.

"That's our choice. Isn't it?" I retort. Before Tony could respond the whole building began to shake.

"What's going on?" I ask as the shaking subsided.

"Sir, I think you'll want to see this." JARVIS stated as a screen popped up showing a news broadcast.

"I can't believe what I'm seeing. Just as we hear the Avengers have gotten back together, they're tearing each other apart on the front lawn." a reporter reported to our shock as we witnessed our teammates attempting to kill each other outside. _'Looks like they aren't taking the breakup well'_

"We have to contain this. Falcon and Ace you're with me. Stay close." Captain America ordered.

"Hold on let me scan for-" Iron Man began before accidentally destroying the screen barely missing us.

"That wasn't supposed to happen." he reassured.

"You want a solo mission. Fix that armor." Cap stated as he headed outside, Falcon and I close behind.

* * *

"Avengers get a hold of yourselves!" Captain America ordered as soon as we made it outside to the chaos. Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks. _'Something's not right.'_

I could hear a slight noise in the air. I looked around trying to see if anything was wrong but whatever it was, it was too small for even my enhanced vision to pick up.

I look back at Falcon to see he had stopped as well. _'There goes my back up.'_ I felt my body change to be completely mechanic, including creating an extra layer that blocked my nose and mouth.

"Amara, are you still there?" Tony called out from my comm unit.

"Yeah luckily I adapted in time. You can explain what's going on after you get down here and help me." I respond as I saw Falcon and Captain America go at it. I looked at the sight before me.

"Time to stop my best friend from attempting to kill his hero." I speak aloud as I run in front of Cap's shield as Falc shoots wing blades at it. I dodge each blade effortlessly, thanks to my enhanced reflexes and speed, as I shoot a light ball at each of them.

"Guys you need to stop this now!" I shout activating my rocket boots just as Captain America tries to smack me with his shield. _'So much for impressing the Captain'_

"Oh goody. Amara's here to hover over us! News flash: You need to get your own life and stay out of mine." Falcon taunted as he tried to grab me in the air.

"Real mature Sam." I respond as I land on the ground. _'He doesn't mean that. Does he?'_

"Go running back to Stark where you belong!" Captain America shouted as he throws his shield at Falcon, almost hitting me in the process. Cap then advanced on me as we engaged in hand to hand combat.

"Actually I think I belong here where I can prevent my teammates from killing each." I say in between exchanging blows.

"You an Avenger? Don't make me laugh. You'll never be one of us. Just an an experiment gone wrong" he finished just as I punched him with all my might knocking him back a few feet.

"You're wrong." I state looking up at Falc. Before Falcon could circle back around to hit me I blasted him down with a light ball. As he crashed I looked on as Hulk and Thor's battle got even more intense and got the attention of civilians. "Tony, if you're gonna do something do it fast." I called out just as I was nearly tackled by Falcon and Captain America who were still trying to kill each other. Luckily, I activated my rocket boots in time. As if on cue MODAK came flying out of the mansion, followed by Tony in his new, hopefully fixed, suit. _'Finally!'_ "About time Tony!" I called out as he zapped Hawkeye and Black Widow, returning them back to normal.

"Sorry, I had to find a way to destroy the microbots MODOK brought that caused this." he apologized as he blasted Captain America. He aimed behind me as I dodged, giving him a clear shot to hit Falcon. After Falcon crashed, Iron Man quickly ended Thor and Hulk's fight. My body shifted back to normal because the threat was gone. Unfortunately, just as things finally returned to normal, the words 'Rocket's Powering Down' appeared on my glasses screen. _'Oh man I knew I should have refueled inside'_ I thought as I began to plummet to the ground.

I closed my eyes waiting for either my powers to kick in or my body to come in contact with the ground. Surprisingly, neither came as I felt a pair of strong arms catch me. I opened my eyes slowly as my shielded violet eyes met the blue eyes of Captain America.

"Thanks for the save Cap." I said.

"Anytime Ace. It's what Avengers do for each other" He responded as he gently put me down. _'Did that really just happen?'_

"What just happened? Was I about to say Cap's shield made his head look small." Hawkeye asked.

"Mind control obviously." Black Widow answered. "And P.S. there is something wrong with you." she added. Hulk picked up Iron Man by the head.

"What happened?" The green giant questioned.

"MODOK, microbots, mind control, me mend miracle. If you wanna smash someone MODOK's right behind you." Iron Man explained before getting out of Hulk's grasp. Hulk turned to look at the villain with a smirk.

"Keep your comms open guys. We're gonna need a team effort." Iron Man ordered.

"He said team. Sweet." Falcon commented.

* * *

We followed our leader back into the mansion just in time to see him blast Red Skull. Cap threw his shield knocking the villain down again. Iron Man flew in and landed next to Captain America.

"Work out the kinks?" the Super Soldier questions.

"Actually, no. That repulser was about all I had till it recharged. Of, course now that you're here." Iron Man responds.

"You lead I'll follow." Captain America stated.

"With each maneuver I'm getting more intel on his tweaks he made to my hijacked tech. Hawkeye, short out his armor." Our leader ordered. Hawkeye fired an arrow at the Skull, hitting the target. Red Skull shot a repulser beam at the archer in retaliation. Luckily, Captain America tossed his shield, blocking the beam just in time.

"Nice, Cap. Widow your turn." Iron Man ordered.

"For someone who sent us packing, you awfully liberal with the orders." She commented as she threw small circular explosives towards the villain. Skull was too busy trying to remove the arrow to notice. He looked down just as they exploded.

"Who else was going to save you from yourself. Thor, he's wide open. Hammer time!" Iron Man stated. Thor threw his hammer, knocking the villain into the wall.

"Falcon and Ace, these are Skull's armor specs. Show him what rookies can do." Iron Man said as I received the specs.

"After you." I state as I create my light balls and begin charging them for maximum power. My best friend nodded at me as he flew up, shooting his wing blades.

"He's all yours Ace." Falcon called out. My lights had grown significantly in size by this point.

"Take your best shot meine little experiment." Red Skull taunted weakly. I glared at the man who's organization ruined my life. I shot off both balls, hitting the last two weak points. He fell to the ground, hard.

"How was that Skull?" I remark with a smirk.

"Careful, keep leading like that and we might just stick together." Cap said seeing that the job was done. Despite the beating he just took, the villain began trying to get up. Black Widow, Hawkeye and I kept our weapons/power aimed at him.

"Yes let Stark lead to your final glorious moments." the Skull spoke before a small blue half sphere came up from the floor, covering him. "The game is over before it has even begun. I took your armor, I will take your lives. I take honor leaving a scar on this nation that will forever will be blamed on the Avengers!" He continued, before disappearing in a bright flash. The entire mansion began to shake for the second time that day.

"What was that?" Thor questioned.

"That was the mansions reactor. Not a good move." Our leader informed us.

"The Skull and Modak, disabled all the reactor's safety systems." Falc added as we analyzed the data.

"Energy discharges have escaped the shields. Multi-phased generators are falling out synchronicity." I continued.

"Less geek speak, guys." Hawkeye pressed.

"In 90 seconds the reactor blows, Manhattan becomes the world's biggest skate bowl, and we'll have a serious PR problem." Iron Man explained. _'Oh, brother'_

"Really? Now?" Cap remarked.

"Joking in the face of certain death is part of my charm." he replied.

"So is being a super genius. Think Einstein. 80 seconds." Widow interrupted.

"Falcon, we need a coil gun that can fire a small sun. You and lightning rod are the barrel. Lots of speed, lots of electricity." Iron Man ordered.

"Try to keep up and get ready to bring the thunder." The Falcon said before he flew off. Thor turned to Iron Man.

"He has your spark. I like it!" He yelled before flying off as well. I walked a little closer to the hole. Before any harm could come to me, my body changed to metal once again.

"Anyone not shielded by armor or gamma radiated skin should probably clear the area of civilians." Our leader said to Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow. The trio took off. "Hulk, its time to get angry. Ace let's get to work." Iron Man stated.

"My favorite time of day." Hulk responded and I simply nodded before jumping into the hole, Hulk close behind.

"Everyone grab an end."

"Can the puny girl lift that much?" Hulk mocked as I grabbed a corner.

"Don't worry about me big guy. Just take care of your end." I retorted with a smirk. Hulk smirked back indicating I'd probably impressed him.

"I like this one." He stated.

"Good and angry?" Iron Man said.

"I'm always angry." He responded. Hulk and I lifted our sides along with him.

"Hard as you can throw, guys. Straight into the vortex" Our leader clarified.

Hulk picked up the reactor out of mine and Tony's hands. Without much effort, he tossed the machine high into the sky. As he did this I charged up a light ball. Iron Man and I exchanged a look before launching the attacks.

The repulser blast began to mix with my ball of light, making it larger and turning a different shade of blue. Moments later a brighter light appeared, then ceased. _'We did it'_

The three of us made our way outside. The whole building was in ruins. My body shifted back to normal as I continued to assess the damage.

"I had stuff in there, ya know. Really expensive stuff." Hawkeye stated as we stood in front of the mansion, waiting for Thor and Falcon.

"Your comic books? I had them moved to storage three months ago." Iron Man told him.

"Oh, okay, we're cool then." he responded.

Thor and Falc landed soon after. Although Sam looked worse for wear. Iron Man and I walked up to him.

"You pass out?" Our leader asked.

"Ya, a little." he replied slightly embarrassed. I placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a sympathetic smile.

"I'm just glad you're back." I state as he smiles back.

"So that's it? The mansion's gone, bad guys gone, Avengers gone?" The Hulk asked. Tony lifted his face mask.

"Let's talk." he says. _'Please tell me had a change of heart'_

* * *

"The Skull almost took us out by teaming up with MODOK. Which means he's gonna try again, but with bigger and badder allies." Tony told the team as we sat in the Avengers Tower's conference room.

"Your robo-butler tell you this?" The archer asked.

"No, the Skull did." Iron Man stated as he pressed a button revealing a holographic video from the Red Skull. "Shield intercepted one of these love letters and passed along the message. Skull's building a cabal of equals to do what he can't do alone" he finished.

"Just like you guys, well us guys. Only you know, evil." Sam said.

"Thanks for clarifying, Sam." Tony remarked. "Point is if the who's who of bad guys RSVP for the Skull's revenge party, the world will be facing threats of a whole new magnitude. Threats that only we can face. The Avengers." he continued on.

"And your way to keep us together is a superhero sleepover boot camp?" Hawkeye commented.

"In the army we worked together, trained together, lived together" Steve said.

"Right, only this isn't the army." Tony said, looking slightly confused.

"This is our new home. Courtesy of Stark Industries" Tony told us moments later as we spread out around a large living space full of state of the art amenities. _'Tony sure went all out'_

"Tony, I was thinking something a more...spartan. Bare essentials." Steve said.

"Beats our quarters at shield." Sam commented to me.

"Oh, wait we lost them, when we got fired from SHIELD." I added.

"I have all of Asgard as my home. You would confine me to this,…shack." Thor stated.

"Well I'm going to the ladies room...Wait there is no ladies room." Black Widow said.

"Problem." I say at the same time as the super spy as the realization dawned on me.

"Guys, big picture. If you believe that a small group of us working together can make a difference." Tony began.

"We just proved that saving New York. The real question is if we follow, will you lead?" Cap interrupted.

"You have my word. No backsies this time." Tony spoke with great confidence. Then the room started to shake, as the Hulk busted through the wall.

"I'm in." He said with a cooked turkey in his hand. "By the way somethings wrong with your fridge." he added, taking a bite of the bird.

"At least shield has indestructible doors. Right, Widow?" Hawkeye went to ask, but Widow was gone. "The disappearing Black Widow everyone, here and then not. This is going to be a disaster." He remarked looking around.

Alarms wet off as a video feed of a giant rock dragon was on one of the TV screens.

"Gentlemen-"

"Excuse me?" I ask raising an eyebrow.

"My apologizes Miss Castile." JARVIS apologized as I smiled.

"Gentlemen and Lady, the Great Wall of China just stood up and is smashing its way toward the cities. Interested?" The computer finished.

"Avengers assemble!" Tony cried out as his face mask went back into place. Cap placed his mask back over his face and grabbed his shield. Hawkeye readjusted his sunglasses and notched an arrow.

Falcon activated his wings. Hulk smashed his hands together. Thor called his hammer to himself. I moved my sunglasses from my head back to covering my face.

"JARVIS engage Avenge-Jet Prime." Iron Man ordered.

"What's an Avenge-Jet Prime?" I ask.

"You're standing in it." He answered as I suddenly learned what he meant.

"This is the best day of my life! Woo-Hoo" Falcon exclaimed as I joined him in celebrating by 'woo-hooing' along with him, ending in a high five.

"Show off." Captain America said.

"What? Your house doesn't do this?" Our leader responded as we took off to save the world...again.

* * *

 **Hey guys! Wow I did not expect that awesome of a turn out for this story especially in the first week. You guys rock! Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter too. Leave a review if you'd like just please no flames! Also thank you to the guest who told me about the weird layout chapter one was in. If any weird stuff happens in future chapters, fill free to let me know. Have a great night!**


	4. Ghost of a Chance

Ghost of a Chance

 *******I Do Not Own Marvel's Avengers Assemble*******

 _'I can't believe I'm doing this'_ I thought as I knocked on the door. A few moments later I was greeted by the sight of my best friend's mother's smiling face.

"Good morning Mama Wilson" I greet using the name she insisted I call her.

"Amara! So good to see you! Come in, Sam's just finishing up." she replied ushering me inside. She led me straight to the kitchen as Sam put the last of cookies his mom made last night in a box.

"Hey Sam!"

"Hey Amara! Your box is sitting in the refrigerator by the way." He replied as I went to retrieve it.

"I'm sure the Avengers will appreciate a little treat on your first day as SHIELD liaisons." Mama Wilson stated as she tied her son's box together with string. I raised an eyebrow at him. _'SHIELD liaison?'_

"Look at the time? Sorry mom we gotta get going. Don't wanna be late for our first day. Love you, bye." Sam said rushing me out the door before I could even say another word.

"Really?" I ask as soon as we are out of the house.

"I'm sorry but, I had to think of something. You know how she is about me doing anything dangerous." He responded as I tossed him a bag with his armor in it.

"Just get changed." I said as I removed the sweats that covered my suit and traded my tennis shoes for my rocket boots.

"I'm really sorry Mara. I promise I'll make it up to you."

"The things I do for you. It's bad enough that I have to wear these colored contacts. Now I have to lie to her about us being Avengers. You are so lucky you're my best friend." I ramble taking out the contacts returning my eyes from chocolate brown to their natural violet.

"How about I start paying you back by letting you take the first cookie from my mom's batch?" He said passing me a cookie making me smile.

"It's a start." I say before taking a bite. _'Why do Mama Wilson's cookies have to be so good?'_

"Let's get to flying before we're actually late." I nodded as I swallowed the last of my cookie. We flew over New York as fast, and carefully, as possible. "Come on, we're running out of time."

"I'm going as fast as I can." I responded trying to keep up with him. We overestimated the amount of time it would take to get to Avengers Tower from Sam's house. _'So much for making a good impression.'_

"Well, someone's in a rush." a familiar voice called out. Sam and I exchange a look before searching for the source of the voice. Finally, to Sam's surprise, we found Tony flying below us.

"Tony?" my best friend and I exclaim.

"Hello." my surrogate brother greets with a mock salute.

"I hate it when you do that." Falc stated making me smile in amusement. I returned the gesture Tony made gaining a look from Sam.

"What?" I ask with a shrug.

"I know. What's with the boxes? Bombs? Let me jet them into the exosphere for you." Iron Man rambled before snatching our cookie boxes and flying away from us. _'Really? Of all the things that could have happened!_ ' Falcon and I flew after our leader.

"Those aren't bombs." the red wing armored hero attempted.

"Rare vaccine for a plague-stricken village?"

"Not even close." I answer trying to get close enough to grab the boxes.

"Well it must not be very important then." he said as he dropped both boxes. _'Please tell me he didn't do that!'_

"Tony!" Falcon and I both shout, diving for the boxes.

"Evidence that can save a wrongly condemned man?" our leader asked once we caught a box each.

"No." Falc responded annoyed while I glared at Tony.

"Really? Now you've got me interested." Iron Man remarked taking the boxes out of our hands again. Avengers Tower came into view making Tony begin to land.

"Give it back!" I called out as we both landed. Falcon somehow managed to grab both boxes from my surrogate brother. My best friend passed me my box as we walked away from our leader.

"Will you quit it? I'm nervous enough as it is." Falcon said.

"So am I. This is a really big day for us, Ton." I agree.

"What? Move-in day?" Tony asked with a chuckle. He removed his face mask, giving me a good look at his amused expression.

"Sam, I had your stuff shipped in hours ago. Amara, your stuff has been here." he continued still not getting it. _'And they call him a genius.'_

"The morning briefing. We're ten minutes late." Falcon informed us.

"Seriously? No, I never get to those things on time. Takes Cap half an hour just to make coffee. Huge yawn." Tony said making me roll my eyes.

"That's you. We're new."

"And I'm nervous about actually socializing with everyone. A fight is one thing but, this? This is new territory for me." I admit with a sigh.

"Do I look calm?" Sam asks.

"You've got wing-pit stains." Ton states. I give him a look telling him to knock it off. "Guys, relax. You're both here for a reason. Trust me, everyone is very cool at these things." He continues trying to reassure us. He places an arm around both of us as he leads us inside. _'Breathe Amara. Breathe.'_

* * *

"Sorry we're late." Sam said as he and I walked closer to the table everyone else was at. He took off his mask while I removed my sunglasses and placed them on top of my head. Hulk stood up and approached us, sniffing. _'Looks like the surprise is ruined'_

"What's in the box, little bird?" Hulk asked pointing at Sam.

"My mom made cookies. A little embarrassing. Uh, she didn't want me to show up empty-handed." he explained nervously opening his box while I stepped back.

"Keep them coming." the green giant said after finishing a few. Thor walked up and claimed one for himself.

"Dibs on that last oatmeal." Black Widow called out. She knocked the cookie out of the Asguardian's hand sending it into the air. I looked up just in time to see her catch the cookie and flip into my place. Luckily, my powers kicked in and teleported me to a different part of the room.

"Did Sam's mom pack a second box?" the person who I teleported next to said. I turned and saw I was standing next to Captain America.

"I actually made these." I say opening the box to reveal red cookies with a white drizzle. "They're red velvet cookies with cream cheese frosting. Sam's mom thought I should make them because I only make them for special occasions and what's more special than today. Although Sam's mom's cookies are way better than mine." I watched anxiously as he picked one up.

"I'm sure they taste great." Cap said reassuringly as he took a bite.

"Are those what I think they are?" Tony asked picking up a cookie happily. "Mari, you are awesome." Sam walked up and grabbed a cookie.

"You know my mom only convinced you to make them because she wanted them right?" he asked.

"Not sure why her cookies are amazing." I argue as the trio gives me a look.

Suddenly, the other members of the team that were at the meeting on time began to fight for the last cookie. Tony pulled me and Sam together as he ushered us away from the fight.

"Let's get you two settled in while they work this out." he stated pushing us out. My surrogate brother pushed a little too hard, making us bump into Hawkeye.

"Who are you?" he asked harshly.

"Falcon. New guy." my best friend answered.

"Ace. Also new. Remember we beat MODAK and Red Skull together." I added. He looked like he'd never seen us before. _'Something is going on here'_ I thought looking at the archer.

"Ah, that Hawkeye sense of humor. Don't quit your day job." Tony tried to cover. Hawkeye pushed past us with a growl. _'Either something is going on here or Hawkeye just isn't a morning person'_ "He's just pulling your feathers. Or he woke up on the wrong side of the man-cave. Either way, ignore him." Tony told Sam as I noticed they left me behind. With a sigh I caught up to them.

"This still doesn't feel real." Sam stated.

"Oh, it'll be very real once we go through all of the official stuff. I'll teach you the secret handshake." Tony remarked making me slightly laugh.

"There's a secret handshake?" Falc asked excitedly while I tried to contain my amusement. Tony looked at me equally amused.

"Note to self, 'Does not get sarcasm.' " my surrogate brother stated.

"You two are loving every minute of watching me geek out, aren't you?" Sam observed.

"A little." our leader agreed.

"Just a bit." I said nodding.

"Here are your quarters, Sam." Tony stated gesturing to a door. "Home-sweet-home?" he continued after opening the door revealing a lot of clutter in my best friend's room.

"This is my room?" Sam asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, I know but, I was working late in the lab and I needed space."

"So do I."

"Told you he would mind." I comment walking out of the room. _'Maybe now would be a good time to do as Tony's been suggesting and get to know the rest of my teammates better.'_

With that thought in mind I continued to ponder who to visit first. Thor's room was the first on my route. A loud roar came from the room along with a shout from Thor. _'He seems busy.'_

As I backed away from Thor's room I bumped into someone...again. Looking up I found myself face to face with Hulk. _'Uh oh'_ "I'm sorry." I say with a sheepish grin.

"You made the red cookies?" he asked as I nodded. "Next time watch where your going." Hulk said walking away. I let out the breath I was holding in. _'That was close'_

I passed Hawkeye's room without even stopping. I'll try talking to him once he's in a better mood. Finally, I settled on knocking Black Widow's door.

"What is it?" she asked upon opening the door.

"Hi." I say with a slight wave. She looked at me with a raised eyebrow that said 'is that it?'

"I just thought I should try to actually...um...meet my teammates and well...yeah."

"Come in." she said opening her door all the way. My violet orbs took in the very minimal look to her room.

"You don't have to be so nervous. I'm not planning to kill you." Widow stated taking in my nervous exterior.

"Sorry it's not that. It's just...I'm a little...out of practice when it comes to socializing." I admit. _'Besides killing me is not an easy task'_ She began to laugh a little.

"You lived with the most social person in the world and you're saying you can't socialize."

"Exactly."

"So you're a teleporter and you can create light in your hands?"

"Yes to the light. I'm not a teleporter, I can adapt to a situation and sometimes I gain a power momentarily for defensive purposes only." I explain as she nodded. "I also have multiple enhancements."

"Interesting."

"Maybe we could spare sometime? I'd really like to see how I'd do against the famous Black Widow."

"I'll take you up on that offer. I'd say we could go now but, it looks like Falcon and Captain America beat us to it." I wondered how she could possibly know that, than remembered this was the Black Widow I was talking to.

"Unless we join them?"

"Or we could have fun. If your up to it?" This got my attention.

"I'm listening."

"We go in and suggest you and Falcon against me and Cap. Then we surprise them by turning the spar into girls vs boys. It'll be funny just seeing the look on their faces."

"I'm in." We left her room to play our little game.

"Thanks for this, Black Widow."

"Natasha." I turn to look at her. "When we aren't on duty you can call me Natasha, Amara." Natasha adds. I nodded.

"Okay. Thanks, Natasha." I continued walking forward. It took a minute to realize I lost Natasha after she stopped a moment ago.

"Natasha?" I call out looking back. A moment later the red-haired woman walked out of a doorway. _'Something feels off'_

"You are insignificant to the mission." 'Natasha' hissed.

"And what exactly is your mission?" Instead of answering she lifted her arms and shot her widow bites at me. Using my enhanced speed, I dodged each one almost effortlessly. She began to walk toward me. I backed away, still dodging.

I charged up my light and fired it at the assassin, trying to at least trip her. I didn't know what was going on but, I didn't want to hurt her. I ran from my attacker hoping to find help. Luckily, Falcon came flying in from the opposite direction.

"Am I glad to see you! We need to get moving, now!" I tell him. Before we can get away, Widow Bites begin shooting at us. Turning around we see the red haired woman responsible.

"Black Widow, you too?" Falcon asks.

"You mean it's not just her?" Black Widow shoots at us again before Sam can answer. She gets one shot in bringing him to the ground. I try to get to him while avoiding getting hit myself.

"Great, maybe MODOK and skull are up to their body-swapping tricks?"

"You'd think they would try something new?" Falcon stood up and we both backed up.

"I thought you wanted to spar?" 'Widow' taunted ready to shoot again. Sam and I shared a look. _'This can't be happening?'_

"Someone wanna tell us what's going on here?" Falcon asked out loud. I didn't want to fight Natasha. I dug in my belt and pulled out a small flash bomb. It wouldn't stop her but, at least Sam and I would have time to get away. Just before I tossed it at the assassin, I heard the familiar sound of Tony's armor flying toward us.

"Get down!" he ordered, firing a direct attack at our teammate as Falcon and I ducked. We turned to look at the fallen assassin, shocked at what had just happened. "Stunned face later. Right now, follow me."

Falcon activated his red wing armor while I activated my rocket boots, together we flew after Iron Man to find out just what was going on around here. Tony landed outside another room causing us to do the same. _'What is going on here?'_

"Throw the switches. We're locking down the tower."

"I was really hoping this was like a prank for my first official day on the job." Falcon stated.

"If this is your idea of a prank, remind me to avoid you on April Fool's Day." I commented, helping Sam pull down levers.

"The exploding cake was going to be the prank. This is an invasion." Our leader clarified.

"Exploding what?" Falcon and I both asked.

"Switch your heads-up displays to ultraviolet. One-nine-eight nanometer range." I lift a finger to shift the view on my glasses to Tony's specifications. Just as I finish I see a large wisp-like figure behind my surrogate brother.

"Tony!" I shouted. My warning came too late because the figure knocked him toward Sam and I. My powers kicked in and gave me momentary teleportation to avoid the hit, Falcon wasn't so lucky. Before I could brace myself, a large fist grabbed me. Based on the strength level, I knew this had to be the Hulk.

"Hmm…How does he say it. Oh, yes. Hulk smash." The being said before smashing me into the ground next to the boys, He turned to them next. This was the moment they needed to escape. Falcon and Iron Man flew out of his reach before he could smash them.

While the green giant was watching them escape I stood up slowly. Despite my increased healing factor, it was gonna take a little time before I could face the Hulk. I activated my rocket boots and pulled out the flash bomb from earlier. I tossed it on the ground and flew out the door as the filled with light. _'That should stall him for a bit'_

I finally, caught up to the boys. They didn't seem as though they'd encountered anymore rouge avengers. Before I could ask any questions, Hulk came smashing through a wall. _'Looks like I didn't stop him for long'_

"Surprise." He taunted looking directly at me.

"Don't hold back. It isn't mind control. That's some kind of copy." Iron Man informed us. I nodded as I began launching my light balls at it, this time without hesitation. All of our attacks at once didn't seem to phase it much.

"Like a clone?" Falcon asked.

"It's beyond cellular. Every atom in his body has been displaced by an identical packet of dark energy."

"Displaced as in sent somewhere else?" I question trying to charge the light in my hands for maximum impact. Before I could ask any more questions, the creature took advantage of my distraction and knocked Falcon and me out of the air and into the walls. I looked up to see Tony in its grasp.

"You'll learn where in time. Now, brother!" A wisp surrounded entire Tony's body. This must have been the goal of the being because it tossed him aside.

"Tony!" Falcon and I yelled. I stood up. I wasn't about to lose him without a fight. I charged my light, feeling as though this time it was gonna make an impact. I launched it at 'Hulk'. He was knocked back into a wall.

"That was for Tony!" I shouted. The beast stood up. I watched as his body began to mend the damage I had done to the dark energy. He glared at me.

"Falcon's nothing. Finish him quickly so we can bring the others across. As for Ace? She will the first of the many assimilated of this world." 'Iron Man' ordered. 'Hulk' took his eyes off me and charged for Falcon. He quickly flew out of the way, trying to get to me.

"Others? There are more of you?" Sam asked looking at me to see if I was alright, I nodded. I activated my rocket boots.

"I'd rather not stay to find out." I add as we flew away from the duplicates. Before we could get too far, 'Hulk' busted through another wall _'Hey we still kinda need those!'_

"I hate when he does that!" Falcon and I dodged a fist by deciding to run instead of walk. I continued to try to hit him with my light, but this gets increasingly difficult when I'm also trying to make sure I don't accidentally hit my best friend.

We finally caught a break when 'Hulk' couldn't turn fast enough and ended up crashing into a wall. I quickly tossed a flash bomb to better conceal our escape. Unfortunately, it only seemed to slightly disorientate him, making 'Hulk' angrier at us.

"Come on, come on!" Falc pleaded with the elevator doors. I stepped in and pried them open. Unfortunately, we almost fell down several stories thanks to this quick thinking. We both reactivated our modes of flight and took cover in a space that held an access panel. "They're all gone. It's only us."

"Don't say that Sam. We'll get them back. Maybe its time to do a little digging to find out a little more about our not so friendly guests?" I say giving him a task. He smiles at me and connects to the panel.

"Finances. Automation. Finances. Finances? All that money and he couldn't afford to give me a bigger room?"

"You can take it up with him once he's back on our plane. Did you find anything else?"

"Bingo, surveillance archives." Sam clicks on the image and brings it up to full screen.

 **"So I'm poking around with the fabric of the universe, and I've found this sort of limbo where dark matter seems to pool." Tony says.** Falcon and I look at each other, already seeing this end badly.

"Limbo? Do not investigate."

 **"I'm going to investigate."**

"Of course he is." I say exasperated.

 **"Jarvis, put all this junk someplace, will you?"**

"Yeah, my room." Falcon comments.

"Let it go already. Fast forward. Display UV spectrum." I cut in stopping his rant. On screen a strange looking portal appears in the lab and out walks one of the creatures that's possessing our teammates. "He cracked open a door."

"Now they want to kick it down and bring more through." My eyes widen in fear as I heard a familiar roar. Falc gasps, meaning he's closer than he was before. The monster broke down the elevator doors and charges right at us, knocking us into the next room. He picked up Falcon while stepping on me to keep me down.

"For an insignificant human, you've been quite annoying." He told Falcon. I began to struggle under his foot. There was no way I was going down like this. Luckily, I wasn't alone in my train of thought.

"Not annoying, I'm avenging." Falcon said as he released his own version of flash bombs that weren't as experimental as mine. At the same time, I used the distraction to free myself just in time to see Falcon save a glass figurine from smashing. I raised an eyebrow at this. "In case I actually survive this, I don't want the real Hulk to kill me."

"This is Hulk's room?" I ask surprised earning a nod. _'Who would have guessed the guy who smashes things for a living has a collection of objects that smash easily?'_

We quickly leave the room not wanting to give the creature a chance to regain its strength. Just as we're in the hallway, 'Thor' blocks our path. We wouldn't be a match for a being like him so we opted for a tactical retreat but, 'Captain America' was there to stop us from escaping. I began charging my light for the inevitable battle.

"Your resistance amounts to less than nothing. We've absorbed life forms in countless dimensions." 'Thor' spoke swinging his hammer.

"But we coveted this one more than any other. So rich with life, so many forms for our brethren to assimilate. With so much power." 'Cap' continued looking at me as though I were just an object. Another piece to assist in their invasion. I glared at him with the same hate I held for HYDRA.

"And the Avengers were the only force that could have stopped you so we were the first to be assimilated." My best friend added while I kept my concentration going.

"We're just trying to fit in. You know how that feels." I scoffed at the fake Captain America's statement.

"Whatever. We will stop you." I say looking at both doppelgangers.

"There is no "we."

"Huh?" Falcon and I both asked. 'Iron Man busted through the wall and tackled Sam, leaving me alone with the dark matter energy creeps. Before they could make a move I launched my light at both of them. This light almost appeared to be a steady beam. I put everything I had into that attack. I fell to my knees and I felt drained. As though it was too much for my body to handle. The last thing I saw before my eyes closed was the victorious smirks of 'Thor' and 'Captain America'

* * *

I slowly began to open my eyes. It was moments like this that made me glad I healed quickly.

"She's waking up!" a voice called out. I was finally able to fully open them but, they quickly widened in panic at who was in my line of sight. I jumped up and activated my rocket boots ready to wipe the smirk off of this fake's face.

"Amara calm down. Its really us Mari." It was at the voice of Tony Stark, the real one, that I took in my surroundings. I was in a strange place with only one path. There was one giant portal behind me and several of those dark matter creature in front of me along with who I finally realized were my real teammates.

"I'm guessing this is where our bodies get displaced to once they get assimilated?" I asked as I flew over to Iron Man.

"You'd be correct. There was one that slipped past us and the fake us gave it your place."

"Super. Anything special I should know about these things?"

"They can only be taken out by brute force."

"Good. I need to work off a little steam." I ran at the creatures and began giving them a beating. I stopped once I heard the sound of my best friend being attacked.

"Sam!" Iron Man and I called out as we looked to the portal. I wished so badly I could be there to help him. To stop this. The small crack that was in the portal burst as fake Hulk broke the barrier down.

"Avengers, trouble!" Captain America called out as we braced ourselves for the hoard of dark energy creatures approaching us.

"Portal is open folks; you know what to do." Iron Man stated. We fought the growing numbers harder. They tried to dogpile Hulk but, that only succeeded in destroying them and making him angrier.

"Stupid purple ghosts!" the green monster cried out.

"Avengers, do whatever you have to. Keep those things from entering our world." I nodded at our orders. I kept punching the creatures harder. I momentarily stopped once I heard the sound of our doppelgangers in trouble. "He's using his redwing to create a vortex."

"And that means?" I ask.

"He's pulling those phantom Avengers right at us." One by one they each fell into the dark matter dimension. The last one followed by Falcon. "Wish I would have thought of it."

"Does this make Falcon officially smarter than you? Considering he survived the longest and got the phantoms out of the tower?" Hawkeye questioned.

"Its not over yet. Falcon, what do we need to know about these guys?"

"They have your strength, your equipment and your abilities. But they don't have your skills." Falcon informed as I faced my duplicate.

"I'll show you skills." Phantom Cap said as he threw his shield at the real Cap. I smirked as he easily caught it.

"No brains either. That wasn't very smart, soldier." The super soldier responded as he threw both shields, knocking the doppelganger back.

I dodged several dark matter versions of my light balls. Each of them poorly misaimed. The phantom charged at me and began trying to hit me with the same attack.

"Here's some advice. Learn to aim better." I say before shooting out my own light ball effectively knocking her back. I jumped in the aim and landed next to her. "And another thing. If your gonna take someone's place, learn everything they can do." I punched her using all of my strength knocking her out. I fought my way back toward the others.

"We need to shut this door. Hulk, quit playing around and give us some elbow room." Iron Man ordered making Hulk drop his dark matter double. He clapped his hands together and created a seismic wave so powerful it knocked all of the phantoms off the platform.

"How's that for elbow room?" the green giant asked.

"Works for me." With that said we walked back into our own dimension and let Tony prepare to fix what he caused. "You should do the honors. Shut it down." 'Really?'

"Shut it down?" Falcon and I asked.

"You're right, blow it up."

"Thank you." He pulled out one of his wing blades and cut the machine apart making it blow up.

"That was about your room, wasn't it? I'll have the stuff moved out."

"After today, you're building me a bigger room. Off the helipad. You can afford it." Hawkeye started laughing at Falcon's words to Iron Man.

"Next time, don't leave your finances available for anyone to access." I state patting my surrogate brother on the shoulder.

"Way to rub his nose in it." Hawkeye commented. I shook my head at that. "Hey speaking of which…Did someone bake cookies?" he asked sniffing the air. The archer dug through the rubble and pulled out a box that appeared to be the same one that was mine from this morning.

"Careful." Our leader cautioned. Not heeding his warning, Hawkeye pulled out one of my cookies and just before he could eat it, had it snatched by Hulk.

"You got phantomed first. No cookie for you." The green giant stated.

"I got dibs on that one." The archer argued.

"Boys, step aside I'm hungry." Black Widow said joining the argument.

"Back off." Hulk told her. I just laughed at their antics. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

"There's no tower like home." Falcon says with a grin on his face.

"I couldn't agree with you more." I say smiling.

* * *

 **Hey guys! Sorry I've been MIA for a while. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this new chapter. I'd like to thank the guest who has been commenting on this story you make my day when I see them. Also shout out to mipp45678, Beta Ray Bill, OtakuLuver411 for following and HarmonyGirl567, KaijudoFan101, OtakuLuver411 and Wimblestat for favoriting. You guys rock! Anyway please review (no flames please!), follow and favorite if you like. Have a great day!**


	5. Blood Feud

Blood Feud

 *******I Do Not Own Marvel's Avengers Assemble*******

I stood in the kitchen with Thor and Hulk. Hulk was making himself a sandwich while Thor and I were waiting for our coffee to finish brewing. I recently found out that the Asgardian and I like our coffee at the same strength. Normally, I drink one cup and the rest gets wasted because no one else has been able to stand it as strong as I can but, since Thor likes it too I get my cup and he gets the rest of the pot. It's a win-win situation. Hulk opened the refrigerator and growled in annoyance.

"What is it?" Thor asked.

"Some dead man took all the peanut butter!" Hulk answered. _'I feel sorry for whoever was dumb enough to take the peanut butter.'_

"What care I for the butter of peanuts?" Thor said making Hulk roar. I looked up in time to see the Asgardian about to drink out of the coffee pot.

"Hold it! Let me get my cup then you can have the rest." I say stopping him. He quickly poured the hot liquid into my mug. I smiled in thanks as he continued to drink out of the pot. I took a sip of my cup.

Unfortunately, this moment of peace lasted for a second because the alarm went off. Hulk, Thor and I exchanged looks before hurrying to the source of the alarm. Just as I was about to round the corner, Hulk decided to break down a wall to get us to our destination sooner.

"You rang?" Hulk said as we walked in to see what appeared to be ninjas.

"You know, Hulk, when I built this place, I designed it with doors." Iron Man stated as he and Falcon came in from another direction. I knew where he was coming from with this but, one look from the Hulk seemed to change his mind. "You're right, doors are so overrated."

"They don't have any heat signatures. And, no pulses." Falcon informed us after scanning the intruders. One of the men tried to tackle Steve but, he gained the upper hand and ripped his mask off.

"It can't be." Steve said freaked out. Hulk tried to punch one of them but, it didn't seem to hurt it much. _'What is going on here?'_

"They ain't puny humans." Hulk observed. I used my glasses to scan them. I thought they could be androids or some kind of tech at first but, now.

"They're not mechanical either." I added. Steve punched his assailant away then turned to Tony and me.

"Iron Man, the tower has UV light frequencies built in, right?" the super soldier asked.

"Yeah, but…"

"Fire them up! Ace, I need you to create a large ball of light." I looked at Steve, unsure where he was going with this. I decided to just go with it and nodded.

"Okay. Weird but, okay." I began to charge up my light making it bigger and brighter. Tony flipped a switch, making the UV lights turn on. I couldn't believe my eyes. The masked men vanished without a trace and appeared to be in pain. The girl screamed in agony and hit behind a pillar.

"What just happened?" Hawkeye asked.

"Vampires." Steve answered. _'Vampires?'_

"Uh, you gotta be kidding me." The super soldier approached the woman carefully. She was still freaking out. He removed her hood revealing Black Widow. I quickly moved my hands, making the light disappear.

"Black Widow?" She gasps in pain. I take a step to try to get her to help but, Falcon puts a hand on my shoulder stopping me.

"Good evening, Captain America. It has been a long time. I send this female with a message. I offer you her life in exchange for yours." A male voice spoke through the red haired woman. Once his message was sent, she fainted into Steve's arms as he caught her.

"Tell me Widow has a creepy voice power I never knew about." Iron Man said.

"That was Dracula." The super soldier answered. _'What?'_ While everyone was letting it sink in, I walked to the switch Tony pulled earlier and flipped, changing the lights back to normal. I rejoined the others and saw Hawkeye helping Cap with Widow.

"Black Widow is a vampire?" Falcon asked.

"No, not yet. She's still in the early stages. Dracula's hold on her isn't complete. She's going to get worse, way worse, but…We still have a change to save her if we act quickly." Steve informed us, standing up.

"Look, maybe I'll buy that there are such things as vampires. Big maybe. But, Count Dracula? Come on. We're talking the 'I vant to drink your blood,' guy, right?" Hawkeye responded still holding Black Widow.

"Not Count, just Dracula. He finds Count insulting since he's King of the vampire nation."

"Well, great. Let me know when Frankenstein's monster and the Wolf Man show."

"Don't mock. There's often truth in myth. Wasn't I a myth until you met me?" Thor retorted.

"But, Hawkeye's got a point. Thor, your powers seem like magic to people on Earth but, its simply Asgardian science. There must be some scientific explanation for these so-called vampires." Tony replied. Widow woke up and slashed her nails at Hawkeye making him back away. She kicked Steve, knocking him down. Hulk tried to grab her, but she was too quick. The red haired woman climbed on top of Hulk, prompting Thor to throw his hammer at her. She dodged the attack, making him hit Hulk instead. Widow landed on the hammer and began ridding it.

"Odin's beard!" Thor exclaimed. I was about to send my light at her but, I just couldn't bring myself to do it knowing that she's being controlled and didn't want to see her in even more pain. I put my light out and settled for activating my rocket boots and flying after her. "Mjolnir, to me!"

I dodged the Asgardian item as Widow attacked Falcon and Iron Man. She continued running out the door once the boys were out of her way. I flew after her, determined not to loose her. She continued on her path which was blocked by a mirror. I slowed down but, Widow didn't seem to notice it. _'This is gonna hurt.'_

I landed next to her, careful of the broken glass. Soon everyone caught up to us.

"A vampire, like I said." Steve stated.

"Why did she run into a mirror?" Falcon asked.

"She couldn't see her reflection." The super soldier picked up a large shard of glass and demonstrated by first showing my reflection then Natasha's fading one.

"Just like in the movies."

"Yeah, except this is real. So now what?" I asked looking to Tony.

"Take her to the lab. I'll run a scan on her to see what's happening to her." He answered still skeptical. Hawkeye picked up the assassin and began following Tony to the lab. Slowly we all followed behind. Cap looked like he was about to argue with him but, I stepped in.

"I know you know what's going on. As crazy as it seems I believe you but, Tony is stubborn so it'll take his tech to tell him what we really need to do. Hopefully, he'll learn fast." I reassured him earning a ghost of a smile in return. Hawkeye already placed Black Widow on the observation table while Iron Man got to work. ' _For Natasha's sake, I hope you realize what we need to do, Ton.'_

"Okay, I've used her biometrics to get into her personal SHIELD file. She was following a lead on the Red Skull in Transylvania?" Falcon informed us after a while.

"That's it. Now, if we want to cure her, we need to find the vampire who turned her into this and force him to release her." Captain America responded. I did a brief double take when I looked at him. _'When did he change out of his work out clothes?'_

"Not so fast, Cap. If skull is involved, this is probably MODOK's brain-switching machine, or a form of hypnotism. I just need…"

"Tony, we are wasting time! We need to get to Transylvania."

"A little faith, Rogers. If there's a way to cure Widow, I can do it here."

"Error, sir." JARVIS states just before the machine begins to malfunction and smoke. I smirked. _'Didn't I tell Steve not to worry?'_

"What's your tech telling you now?" Cap asked.

"That we should go to Transylvania?" my surrogate brother replied.

* * *

"What are you loading up there?" Falcon asks Captain America as we ride the Avenge-Jet Prime to Transylvania. I looked over at the super soldier and saw several small disks in his hands.

"Silver-plated strike discs. Tools to deal with Dracula's troops." He answered.

"Can't Hulk just smash them?"

"Didn't he already try that with minimal results?" I ask.

"He can knock them down but, they won't stop." Cap informed us.

"All right, Van Helsing, you want to tell us why you're such an expert on vampires?" Hawkeye asked.

"During the war, Dracula and our country were uneasy allies. HYDRA was trying to invade Transylvania. Dracula was protecting his land. The enemy of my enemy sort of thing."

"But why is he after you now?" Thor questioned.

"Dracula is a king. He takes what he wants. I must have something he wants."

"And you don't know what that is?" Hawkeye asked.

"No, but finding that out is our only chance to save Widow."

"Relax, people. You're all acting like you're in the middle of a horror movie. We just need to break into his castle and find out what Dracula is using on her. Nanotech, maybe? I just can't see it, yet." Tony stated. I rolled my eyes, he won't be convinced until he come face to face with the truth. "Really, Wooden stake arrows?"

"Why not?" the archer responded.

"I am uneasy, Captain. This smells of a trap." Thor commented.

"No kidding." Captain America replied.

We landed the jet and set out to find Dracula. As we walked to the castle, the gates opened for us. ' _Can this place get any creepier?'_

As if to answer my question, ominous thunder and lightning sounded. We continued into what I now realize is a graveyard. _'Of course Dracula would have his castle here.'_

"What, is it always nighttime here?" Hawkeye asks.

"Yes, bowman, my kingdom lives in eternal night." A voice says right before Dracula, himself appears before us. "Good evening, Avengers. I see you received my invitation." The vampire vanishes, then reappears below the steps to his castle. "So, Captain, my offer. Your life for the woman's. Are you willing to accept?"

"Wow. You need new head-shots, Drac. You look nothing like your pictures." Hawkeye taunted while readying an arrow. _'Oh no!'_

"Don't!" Captain America cried out. His warning came too late as the archer launched his arrow. Dracula was nowhere to be seen.

"Well, that was easy."

"You have no idea what you've started."

"Or finished?" Instantly, Dracula appeared between them. I felt a hand grab me. Before I could even process what was happening, I felt a sharp pain in my neck and I was facing my teammates. I cried out in pain.

"Ace!" Captain America and Iron Man exclaimed. At least I think I did, everything felt awful. I couldn't even stand, if Dracula wasn't supporting me I'd be on the ground.

"Because of our history, Captain, I was going to make this as painless as possible. I see that my mercy is not wanted." I felt like my body was on fire, I couldn't stay awake anymore and passed out.

* * *

~~~~~Falcons POV~~~~~

I watched as Ace fell limp in Dracula's arms. She didn't look good at all, and not just because of the vampire transformation. Her body kept shifting in various places, trying to adapt to fight off whatever was happening to her.

"Destroy them all." Dracula ordered making vampires appear and surround us.

"I hate to think I was wasting all that stake carving time!" Hawkeye commented.

"JARVIS, what am I looking at here?" Tony asks.

"It appears that the vampire genetic structure can reconstitute itself. They do not take on damage the same way as you. After careful analysis, sir, it is my conclusion that you are down in trouble town." JARVIS answered.

"Thanks for the color play, JARVIS. All right, guys, let's hit them with everything we got and a little more. We'll figure out how to make it permanent later." The vampires hissed at us just before they started to charge at us.

"You over-think, Stark. Just smash!" Hulk exclaimed smashing the vampires. I flew into the air and shot my wing blades at the monsters. As I went to circle around, I felt something wrap around my leg. I looked down to see a vampire trying to pull me down. _'Not gonna happen!'_

"A whip? Gonna have to go higher tech than that." I said cutting myself free. I did a backflip in the air and noticed the rope didn't fall off. I grabbed it then noticed it trying to attack me. "That's not normal." I flew down next to Iron Man as he finished sending a few more vamps packing. "This tech is amazing. It's like it's alive." I held out the rope to show him.

"Alive? That's it! Non-genetic biodrivers. This isn't magic it's a form of biotech. There! They use blood to transfer data. Piggy-backing program commands through the white cells. I just have to hack these sequence codes before Widow and Ace become full-fledged vampires." He responded after scanning the rope-like item and flying away.

"I already know how to get them back. Hulk, Thor, cover this entrance. Falcon, Hawkeye around me. Hulk, make me a hole." Cap ordered. The big guy did as he was told and punched a hole in the wall of the castle.

"Hole!" Hulk exclaimed. The super soldier started to run toward the hole followed by Hawkeye. I quickly began to run after them. The castle looked just as creep inside as outside.

"Dracula's chambers are in the north tower."

"How do you do that?" Hawkeye asked.

"Furthest from the sun."

"I was just about to say that." The two men began running ahead again but, something stopped me.

"Falcon! Falcon, help me please." Widow's voice called out.

"Guys?" I tried. Unfortunately, they didn't hear me. _'I guess its up to me now.'_

"Please, hurry." I immediately followed her voice, hoping it would bring me to her and my best friend. I soon found myself in the bell tower. I looked around and noticed Black Widow standing in the shadows.

"Widow? You okay?" she didn't respond. She snarled at me then kicked the bell. I put my hands over my ears trying to block out the loud noise.

"The sonic navigation units that run your armor make you vulnerable." She laughed. _'How could I be so stupid?'_ I thought still in pain. "Great job as an Avenger, Wilson."

"Back away, Natasha. He may be a noob but, he's our noob." Hawkeye said. I was still in too much pain to turn and see but, I assume he had an arrow pointed at the assassin.

"Clint? Help me. Dracula's controlling me. I can't stop him."

"No, fight it." I heard a the sound of someone hitting the ground. Either Hawkeye's down or Widow.

"The Avenger's compassion will always be their weakness." Dracula stated. Looks like Clint's down. I felt someone grab me but, after that, I fell unconscious.

* * *

I woke up in what I assumed was Dracula's chambers. Hawkeye was just waking up as well. The other Avengers busted through a wall as Hulk lunged at the vampire. We all gathered together ready for a fight. Briefly, I looked to a part of the room and saw Amara. She was lying on the ground, her body's attempts to adapt getting slower. _'Hang in there, Mara.'_

Dracula walked out of the hole without Hulk. The vampire king fell to his knees but, instead of becoming weak, he began to turn green and get stronger.

"That doesn't look good." The archer commented. Hulk finally made his way out of the hole, unfortunately, he began to turn into a vampire.

"That looks worse." Iron Man added looking at Vampire Hulk.

"Slave, finish the Avengers." Dracula commanded.

"Yes, master." The new vampire stammered.

"Hey, big guy. Hey I'll, I'll replace the peanut butter." Hawkeye stated nervously.

"That was you?" Thor questioned. Hulk charged at the two heroes, knocking them away. Iron Man tried firing his repulsor beams at him causing Hulk to throw a rock at him. Tony dodged it just in time.

"Incredible. He is even stronger than before." Thor observed before getting back into the fight.

"Tony, we're losing them!" Captain America cried out. I turned around and saw him holding Ace in his arms as he used his shield to observe their transformation states based on their reflections.

"Black Widow and Ace are the least of your worries, Captain America." Dracula stated. The super soldier put Ace down next to Widow as he stood up. "Now that I have the power of the Hulk, there is nothing to stop me from getting your blood."

Cap threw his shield at the vampire making him dodge. He then circled back around and picked up Captain America as he flew away. Just as he was about to bite the super soldier, he dropped him. Dracula lost control of his flight and crash landed while in pain. Iron Man flew in a little closer to see what was happening.

"What's happening?" the vampire said while he was gagging in pain.

"That's it, the gamma rays. Hulk's gamma-energized blood has a similar ionizing property to solar radiation." Tony began.

"English, please." Hawkeye stated.

"Hulk's blood is kind of like sunlight." I clarified.

"Thank you."

"Is there a plan in there somewhere?" Cap asked.

"Yeah, we make him madder. " our leader replied. Thor seemed to get the idea as Mjolnir slammed Hulk in the face.

"I am an expert at that." The Asgardian stated catching his hammer. "Strike and retreat. Ha! He hates it." Thor threw it again while Iron Man fired a repulsor blast at the green monster. I readied my wing blades to attack.

"You sure about that? Cause I spend a lot of time making sure he doesn't get mad." Hawkeye commented as we both dodged a raging Vampire Hulk.

"Gamma levels up high enough, they'll burn out the Dracu-cells. I think." I inform him as I attack Hulk from the air.

"Good. That's the idea. But, its not enough! Come on, people! We need him angrier! Angrier!" Iron Man exclaimed continuing to attack. Cap began attacking him and just barely got out of his grasp.

"This way, you oaf!" Cap shouted as he let Thor take over. The Asgardian attacked then retreated as was the plan. "Over here!" the super soldier made Hulk run toward a pillar and punch that instead of him. The ceiling was starting to crumple in the area of their fight. This did not go unnoticed by Dracula.

"Slave, no!" the vampire cried out as the ceiling gave out, dropping rubble on the big guy.

"I hope that's angry enough." I say as Hulk begins to climb out of the rubble.

"I hope its not." Thor commented.

"His blood cells are like millions of tiny suns, burning away the vampire infection." Iron Man informed us. Hulk began to look like he might win this battle. "Come on, big green. You can do it." Hulk began to shrink to his normal size and lost his vampire features. He fell to the ground hard.

"Is he dead?" I ask unsure of what happens to someone who gets de-vampireized.

"Wait for it." The archer stated. Soon Hulk began to snore.

"He purged himself? That's…That's impossible." Dracula responds before convulsing in pain.

"No. That's the Hulk." Iron Man said as Dracula turned back into his normal form.

"I was so close. So close!"

"Release Ace and Widow." Cap said about to hit the vampire with his shield.

"Away from me!" Tony began charging up a repulsor beam. I knew if something concerned Amara, he meant business.

"Let them go, or digesting gamma radiation will be the least painful moment of your day." He threatened. The ground began to rumble. It slowly opened up around Dracula as his vampire minions pulled him down.

"This is not over! You have won nothing, Avengers. Ace and Black Widow are mine. They will be mine forever!" with that said he was gone.

"You're coming with us, Nat, we're going to save you." Hawkeye said picking up the assassin. I moved to pick up Amara but, Cap beat me to it. She still wasn't in great shape. Her shifts were happening at a slower pace.

"You too, Mari. I promise." Iron Man added looking at the girl he saw as his little sister.

"Uh, who's gonna wake up the Hulk?" I ask. As the building began to crumble.

"No time for questions." We all rushed out of the castle. Luckily, Hulk woke up just in time. We sat both girls down while Tony made an antidote. Hawkeye volunteered to be on standby with his wooden stake arrows. _'Hopefully we won't need them.'_

"This is a synthesized version of Hulk's blood. It will burn out the vampire virus and cure them." Our leader said walking toward the girls with a needle in his hands. I looked at it skeptically.

"How are you going to administer it to Ace? She freaks out with needles plus with her body trying to adapt…" I started. Hawkeye looked like he wanted to comment on it. "I know what you're thinking and she doesn't freak out in a fun way. HYDRA really did a number on her, she won't even go to the med bay." I said making the archer reconsider his prank idea. _'I learned that lesson the hard way'_

"By injecting her with it. She's out of it right now so she won't remember it. I just have to time it right."

"No chance they'll, you know, turn green or something?" Hawkeye asked.

"Of course no. Right, Tony?" I asked beginning to wonder that myself. One hulk is bad enough but, two more would be worse than what we just faced.

"Right. I mean, probably not, no. Hopefully, not. I don't know. Let's find out." Iron Man responded as he first injected Widow. Next he waited for Ace's skin to shift back to normal before he injected her as well.

* * *

~~~~~Ace's POV~~~~~

I slowly began to open my eyes. My body didn't feel like it wasn't tearing itself apart anymore but, I had a serious headache. It looked like we were back on the Avenge-Jet.

"Where am I?" Widow asked. I looked over to see that she and I were both seated next to each other. _'Glad to see she's back to normal'_

"Kind of a long story." Hawkeye responded. I looked to see the entire team standing in front of us.

"I remember Red Skull and Dracula…"

"Last thing I remember is Dracula grabbing me…" I added as a realization hit me.

"Am I a vampire?" we both gasp at the same time. I looked to Tony pleading with him to tell me I'm wrong.

"You got better." He answered. Just then my senses picked up a terrible scent.

"What is that awful smell?" I ask.

"Just in case Stark's tech wasn't as good as he thought it was." The archer explained pulling out a necklace of garlic. _'Seriously, garlic?'_

"Got a wooden stake ready too, just in case?" Widow asked as I giggled.

"What do you take me for?" I saw his hand move behind his back. _'Really?'_ I shook my head at his antics.

"So I'm guessing we won?" I asked hoping I would never have to see his face again.

"Dracula got away but, don't worry we'll get him." Captain America reassured me.

"He better hope I don't find him!" Black Widow said.

* * *

I stood in the kitchen waiting for my tea to brew. Everyone else was already in bed but, I needed to relax after almost turning into a vampire. Hot tea was the only way to do this. It was part of my system, drink really strong coffee in the morning to wake up then drink a relaxing cup of tea before bed. It reminded me I really was free.

"Amara? What are you doing up?" Steve asked as he wondered into the kitchen.

"I never went to bed. I'm making tea if you'd like a cup?" I offered turning to him. The look on his face was priceless. _'I guess he read the various packages in my tea cabinet.'_ "Relax, I'm just making earl grey tea. Nothing fancy. "

"In that case sure." I smiled and pulled out a second mug. "I'm sorry, Amara."

"For what?"

"For almost getting you turned into a vampire. You and Widow shouldn't have been involved in my past haunting me." He looked down at the counter. I put my hand to his chin and made him face me.

"You guys saved us. I'm not a vampire and neither is Natasha. It's like my mom used to say 'Don't focus on what's happened, focus on what's happening in the present.'"

"She sounds wise."

"Yeah, she was." I smiled sadly.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to bring up any bad memories."

"You didn't, Steve. I was just remembering her and my dad. Having talks almost like this. Tony's great but, it's hard to really talk to him, you know?"

"Yeah, I do." I looked into Steve's eyes. I thought I'd find pity in them but, there seemed to be something genuine in them. The timer I set for the tea to steep went off, pushing out of my trance. I hurried to turn it off. _'How long was I staring at him?_ ' I quickly poured the hot beverage into the mugs. I didn't dare look at the Super Soldier as I felt me cheeks going red. "You can talk to me if you want…or any of the other Avengers."

"Thanks. I'll remember that." I said as we both sipped our teas in silence.

* * *

 **Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed this new chapter. Yes I did skip** ** _The Serpent of Doom._** **I just couldn't really see Amara changing much in the plot of the episode. Just a warning, there will be more episodes skipped as this story continues. If you have a favorite episode that you want to make sure I do please leave it in the comments and I'll do my best.** **Now for a few shout outs! Thank you to musicalanime99, White Tiger Bumblebee, Ghostbuster30 and Emily627 for favoriting! Thank you to Ghostbuster30 for following!**

 **Now to reply to comments!**

 **Wowza03: Thank you! And yes red velvet cookies are really good! I strongly recommend them, especially if you like red velvet cake.**

 **Anyway please review (no flames please!), follow and favorite if you like. Have a great day!**


	6. Super-Adaptoid

Super-Adaptiod

 *******I Do Not Own Marvel's Avengers Assemble*******

I walked into the room Sam told me Tony was in. I needed him to look over the data on my newly updated flash bombs. I added a range to set the power of the photons being emitted. I also tweaked the output power to allow for the potential to actually harm larger targets instead of just annoying them. I held my Stark-pad in my hands. _'Hopefully, he won't try to take over again…'_

"Hey, Tony, could you look over the data on my…"

"We don't actually need to see you're scattered atoms to prove my point." I walked further into the room to see Tony was addressing Steve. My surrogate brother set up a holographic simulation with life sized versions of himself and the Super Soldier. By the looks of things, Tony was trying to get Steve to upgrade to his tech...again.

"The point being your video game has some nice graphics? Sure." Steve replied.

"Flattery won't get you un-atomized." The holograms shrunk and returned to Tony's Stark-pad. I decided to see how this plays out for a moment. "You want to survive, you got to change with the times."

"Spend a few decades frozen in ice, then we can talk about survival."

"Sir, I believe you would call that a burn." JARVIS commented. I laughed softly. The two looked at me while I smiled sheepishly.

"Point to JARVIS, master of the obvious." Tony stated.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to walk in on this but, please continue. I can wait." I said taking a seat.

"I've already designed new armor for you, Cap, plus an upgrade to the shield." Our leader pulled up the specifications he showed me earlier on his Stark-pad. _'Oh, boy'_ "Don't worry, I kept the color scheme."

"Tony, armor would slow me down and my shield is like an extension of my arm. If you change it in any way…"

"Just say it. Say, 'Tony, I'm afraid of new tech.' Admitting you have a problem is always the first step. Even, Amara's adapted to new tech. Tell him, Mari, that he needs to get with the times."

"Please don't drag me into this. I can see both sides of the argument. I grew up on island without most of this technology so I can see why it would be a good idea to adapt to-" I began.

"See, Cap, even she-"

"At the same time my powers are mostly based on my enhanced abilities. While I can become stronger to work with a bulky armor, it would make my body have to work twice as hard to keep up which would make me a liability to the team."

"Finally, someone who sees the value in what humans can do without machines-"

"We don't have to go into it so fast. It might be too much for you. If it helps we can take baby steps." Tony commented. _'Did he really just say that?'_

"Gosh, Mr. Big Brain, your modern tech is so gol-darn confusing." Cap, turned toward the coffee pot. "How does this contraption turn water into coffee? Is it coal power, or is it a miracle?" Tony and I shared a look.

"Hmm. Sarcasm must be a modern invention because when you do it, it just sounds wrong." I nodded.

"Sorry but, I have to agree." I added. The Super Soldier walked to the button that launched the Aven-Jet.

"Say, if I hit this, will the whole building just launch into the sky?" He held his finger over the button. Tony ran over to him in an instant. I held back laughter at him actually believing Steve was that naïve.

"Uh, the Aven-jet? Yes." He said moving the glass to cover the button.

"I know, I read the manual."

"Its true he asked for a copy so I gave it to him. Give the guy a little credit." I add.

"I don't have a problem with technology. But no machine can replace human intuition or just plain guts."

"You're saying I don't have guts?" Tony asked walking toward the Super Soldier. _'Here we go again'_

"Sir, there's a broadcast I suggest you watch." JARVIS informed pulling up the monitor and thankfully putting a stop to their argument, for now.

"On your newfangled magic picture box?" Steve asked sarcastically. I smiled, amused. _'He's getting a little better.'_

"Enough." My surrogate brother said as we all turned to the screen. The logo for Hammer Advanced Weapons Systems was taking up the entire screen. _'Not him.'_ Unfortunately, the man known as Justin Hammer walked onto the screen. _'Of course its him.'_

"You call them 'Avengers'? I call them loose cannons. Hammer Tech offers better, safer high-tech protection from evil, without the unbearable ego of Tony 'The Phony' Stark. Avengers, I challenge you. Come on down and see for yourself that I can do a better job of hero-ing than your can. I'm Justin Hammer, and I approve telling the Avengers to stuff it for a safer America." Hammer finished his broadcast and thankfully, disappeared from our screen.

"Someone doesn't like you." Steve commented.

"A lot of people don't like me. None of them are as annoying as Justin Hammer." Tony replied.

"Or as attention hungry." I stated. Tony walked to the holoscreen and crumpled it up like it was paper.

"JARVIS, get me coordinates and call the gang." He tossed the screen behind him and it landed in a virtual trash bin. Tony's take on Steve's look floated toward us. To show just how much he disliked the armor he hit it away with his shield.

"To say you didn't like it would be an understatement."

"I just wish he would let me do things my way instead of converting me to his tech only ideals." Cap said putting his mask back on.

"You don't have to explain it to me. He means well but, he is far to stubborn when it comes to tech. I only got him to back off by giving him a new medium to enhance." I brought my glasses over my eyes, then moved my hands indicating my suit. We walked to get on the Aven-jet.

* * *

"Hammer's a wannabe. Smart-ish. He's a weapons tech guy, like I am. Only he's got no skill, talent or tact." Iron Man informed us before landing at the location Hammer was at.

"Since when do you have tact? Why are we taking his bait?" Captain America asked.

"Because on the off chance he really did build something dangerous, we don't want a guy like Hammer, running around with an atomic bomb in his pocket."

"And he called you out on TV."

"And that." I rolled my eyes. _'Of course this is about him saving face. If it was anyone but, Hammer, I guarantee we wouldn't be here'_ The team walked out of the jet to be greeted by Hammer.

"You accepted my invitation. Mango iced tea? I made it myself." The inventor greeted.

"Whatever sad, little game you're playing, Hammer, let's get it over with so I can get back to something more meaningful. Like anything."

"I just wanted to run a little experiment. The Avengers against one of my humble inventions."

"Seriously? What could possibly…" Before he could finish, an android slammed into Iron Man.

"Meet the Super-Adaptoid, superhero of the future. Its time to put your metal where your mouth is, Iron Man." The machine punched our leader again.

"Wow. You invented a sucker punch machine. Congrats!" Iron Man grabbed its fist, blocking the attempt at another attack.

"Oh, he's a lot more than that. Go on, take a whack at him." The machine was knocked back by a repulsor blast. He quickly flew at it and grabbed it taking it for a ride. It flipped Iron Man around and knocked him back to the ground. Hulk and Thor were ready to step in to help. I hesitated. _'Something doesn't seem right. Hammer wouldn't call us here without an ulterior motive.'_ I began scanning and recording everything Hammer's Super-Adaptoid did.

"Guys, come on! Came all the way out here, let's at least enjoy the show for a few seconds. Maybe Stark will get punched again." Hawkeye remarked.

"Thanks for the support, Hawkeye. You're the best." Iron Man stood up. "Hammer's toy robot packs a wallop, barely. Oh, look, it's scanning us for weaknesses. That is adorable." The scanning made my suspicions that much more prominent.

"Don't get cocky…Cockier. Its learning." Cap advised.

"Then let's take it to school." Our leader blasted the bot, this time, it created a hole in its body making the attack him. _'Of course Hammer couldn't come up with something original, he had to make a knockoff version of me.'_ It was about to launch Iron Man's attack back at him but, Captain America threw his shield, cutting off Super-Adaptoid's arm. Falcon flew into the air to stop it from getting the arm back. Falc launched his wing blades, blocking the bot.

"I give him an F. Whoa." My best friend said as he saw his direct attack get absorbed into the machine.

"Falcon, get out of there!" I called out not liking that feature. My warning was well advised as the bot launched his attack back at him.

"Relax, Ace. I'm fine." He knocked the blades away with his own. Hawkeye shot an arrow that send out electric currents to the Super-Adaptoid.

"F-minus." The archer amended.

"In Asgard, we do not have a grading system such as this. But I will play along. I give him a G!" Thor said before sending a small dose of lightning at it. Hulk landed on top of it, effectively smashing it.

"Make that an H." Hulk corrected.

"Next time, school's out, then bam. Work for you?" Iron Man stated.

"Ah-ha! I see what you did there." The Asgardian replied.

"You ruined my only model! It'll take me forever to build another." Hammer whined.

"Next time you build something to attack us with…Don't." Hulk said landing next to him. The big guy grabbed the inventor's glass of tea and drank it before giving it back and shoving him. I smirked. _'At least its destroyed.'_

"Can't blame a guy for trying."

"Actually, we can. Stay out of the weapons game before you hurt someone." Iron Man stated following everyone else as they got back on the Aven-Jet. I stood next to Captain America who recovered a piece of the robot. I wanted to get a better scan and picture of the technology. It could be useful if Tony, Sam or I improved on the tech.

"It's never that easy." Cap stated looking at the piece.

"I'm going to sue! That'll teach you!" Hammer said walking up to us. He grabbed the piece from Cap and faced him. "Lawyer up, blue boy! Because I'm going to sue you all!" He turned to me. "Since you didn't take part in this destruction of property, it'd be a shame to make such a pretty lady, as yourself suffer. What do you say we go to dinner and discuss a settlement, just you and me?" he winked at me

"Excuse me?" I ask feeling uncomfortable. Cap puts an arm around me to turn me toward the jet.

"Our ride is leaving." He stated ushering me away.

"Big mistake blondie. You'll regret this!" Hammer continued on as we walked away.

"Thank you." I said once we were safely on board. He removed his arm from me.

"It was no problem, you didn't look like you appreciated the comment so I felt I needed to help you." The Super Soldier explained. _'Good thing he doesn't know Hammer's flirted with me before.'_ I smiled at him, glad I had someone around to watch my back around jerks like Hammer.

* * *

"A Super-Adaptoid that can't adapt? Hammer should have called it Stupor-Adaptoid." Hawkeye remarked once we were in the air. He blew a straw wrapper off the straw making it hit Hulk. "Oh, why so blue, big green?"

"He hardly got to smash anything besides Hammer's junk bot." Falcon explained.

"Left a 10 gallon tub of peanut butter for this stupid mission. Better still be there." Hulk sulked.

"If it makes you feel any better. You got more smashing in than Ace. Sorry we didn't leave anything for you to hit."

"As long as the wannabe adapting robot is toast I'm fine." I admit.

"What did you scan from the Adaptoid during the battle?" Cap asked Iron Man.

"I scanned it being crushed to bits. Why?" he answered.

"I'd just like to see the data, that's all. You said it was scanning us?"

"There's nothing to see. Nada, zip, zero. Hammer came at us with his cheesy robot. We tore it apart."

"That 'cheesy robot' started adapting to your fighting style and was about to use Falcon's weapons against him. And you don't think it's strange to spend billions on a robot just to let us crush it? Hammer can't be a complete idiot."

"Oh, Hammer is a complete idiot. Really. He's just a geek with armor envy."

"Data, please."

"Not my idea of a good time but, knock yourself out." Tony tossed Steve his membership card. He pulled out his Stark-pad and scanned Tony's card, transferring the data. "If any of the math looks complicated, that's because it is."

"If you'd like I can give you what I scanned, including a play-by-play of the battle." I offered not really seeing the point since its destroyed but, there could be something that was missed. I'll check on my own later but, only to see what I could create with this tech. Steve nodded as I tossed him my card and watched as the data transferred over.

* * *

Sam and I decided to check on Steve after the whole Super-Adaptoid incident. He seemed so sure there was something missing and we were determined to help in any way we could. We finally found the Captain after searching for a while.

"I can do this." The Super Soldier told himself. My best friend and I exchanged a look before walking down to help him. He sighed before dropping the Stark-pad. It began to do something that the blonde had clearly not intended to do.

"If you just say, 'I meant to do that,' it pretty much covers everything." Sam says getting the man's attention.

"Thanks." Steve replied with a chuckle.

"I don't want to overstep but, if you need help with the tech just ask. Probably sort of challenging for someone of your age." I hit his shoulder and gave him a look.

"Sam, I'm barely older than you. Amara and I are the same age. I slept through a lot but, I woke up to a world of marvels. I really think this stuff is the tops."

"Cool. But just so you know, nobody says 'the tops' anymore."

"What are you looking for anyway?" I ask as I look over Sam's shoulder to see what's on the Stark-pad as he took it from Steve.

"Hammer played right into one of Stark's blind spots. He threw a machine at Tony. And Stark believes he's master of all machines. Right there." Steve said as Sam and I looked through the data.

"Whoa. Those are undifferentiated micro-clusters." Sam stated.

"Their tiny machines…"

"That can be re-purposed in response to new programming right?" The Super Soldier said finishing my explanation, while looking to me for confirmation on my thought. I nodded as Sam held a surprised expression that mimicked my own. "Futura. Never miss an issue. Tony thought the Adaptoid was scanning us for weaknesses."

"But it can do more than that. Better call him." I continue on before my body adapted and created a shield around the three of us. It blocked the damage we would have taken from the explosion that occurred. Unfortunately, the force of the blast as so strong it knocked us back a few feet. The rest of the Avengers arrived just as my shield disappeared.

"Lady and Gentlemen, you left so soon. Our little test wasn't over. See, first Super-Adaptoid learns, then he adapts, Capisce?" Hammer called out as the robot was positioned on the roof of the next building.

"He hit me with a repulsor blast just like yours. What is this?" Sam asked.

"Don't quote me on this but, I've got no idea." Tony answered.

"Soil your armor yet, Stark?" Hammer responded via a communication device embedded in the machine. The bot held its arms out and created two copies of Cap's shield.

"Hammer's machine wasn't scanning us for weakness. It was learning." Captain America tried.

"I got it, Cap!" Iron Man said before flying toward the Super-Adaptoid.

"When was the last time you tasted uni-beam, Stark?" Hammer asked as he shot out the attack. Thor and Hulk crashed threw a window at as they began to go after Hammer's tech.

"Taste this." Our leader launched his own tri-beam in retaliation. The Adaptoid's shields blocked the attack and redirected it toward the two powerhouses of the Avengers, knocking them out of the sky.

"Stuff it, Stark." Hammer began to attack again.

"Iron Man!" Cap cried out as he jumped in front of him and blocked the attack with his shield.

"No one uni-beams me!" Tony exclaimed, pushing the Super Soldier aside and flying away.

"That's not going to work!" Iron Man tried to attack but, he ended up being shot back down.

"You should listen to your team." Hammer mocked.

"You still don't get it." Captain America throws a weapon at the robot that explodes upon impact, taking out its legs.

"Smooth. I'll have to remember that one. The beauty part is recalling your every move shouldn't be a problem. I feel like causing trouble. You feel like stopping me?" Hammer flew away once the legs on the Super-Adaptoid regrew.

"Gonna listen to me now?"

"You bet. Soon as I remind Hammer that anything he can build, I can break." Tony said before flying after him. _'Is he really this stubborn?'_

"Tony!" Sam and I exchange a look.

"Don't worry, we got him." Falcon says as we fly off after my surrogate brother. We finally caught up to Tony and join him in taking down Hammer.

"As Adaptoid is hit with new weapons, energy or powers, it can copy them by creating new devices, new weapons and new tactics." I explained.

"Like that one."

"What's the game, Hammer? You don't get to be superhero of the future by attacking us over New York City." Iron Man questioned.

"True. Maybe that was a little fib on my part. Maybe I have bigger plans for the Adaptoid. And I bet you just wish you knew what they were." The bot let the wind drag him back, almost hitting us.

"Well, that wasn't ominous at all." We flew after the Super-Adaptoid. "Hmm…Turbines approximating Falcon's speed, my repulsor tech, Hulk's excess density and strength, Cap's shield obviously…How did you two figure it out?"

"We didn't. It was Cap." I answered with a knowing grin.

"Cap? I hate it when he's right…Especially when it means I'm wrong."

"Go back to school, robot." Thor called out just as he nailed the robot from below. Hammer's machine was knocked back right into a waiting Hulk. The big guy hit him right into the water below us.

The duo landed on the ground near the area. Thor started to create a large storm, forcing clouds to do his bidding. A gigantic amount of electricity came toward Mjolnir as the Adaptoid began to resurface. The Asgardian redirected the power into the bot. Iron Man, Falcon and I flew down lower to hopefully see the machine be destroyed.

"Ready up, Avengers. This isn't over yet. I have a strategy-"

"We're all good, Cap. That thing just took a face full of Hulk and kajillion volts of Asgardian lightning. Its toast." Iron Man interrupted as Steve flew in on one of Tony's vehicles. I noticed something about the machine. ' _This is far from over'_

"Really? You're the ones about to burn." Hammer taunted. To everyone's shock he began to absorb the lightning until it was formed into a large sphere. The machine launched it right at us. As it was coming I felt my body transport me away from the blast. I was just barely out of the blast radius when I saw my teammates get thrown by the hit.

"When are you going to learn? It's learning our moves and mimicking our powers." Captain America said as he threw his shield since other, than me, he was the only one not to get hit. "Ace, stay out of the Adaptoid's range. Its already powerful enough." I nodded, having already thought of that. The shield was knocked away as if it were nothing.

"We have to try a new way of doing things, different than we're used to." Steve flew close to the water to retrieve his shield while Falcon and I began to do just as the Super Soldier suggested.

"We're on it." Falcon answered. We both shot out our respective weapons and powers. I tossed several low level photon balls since I couldn't know if this thing would be able to strengthen them or not.

"Bring it on. My bot can handle anything this little birdie and firefly can throw at it." Hammer called out. Neither of us gave an inch as we continued our barrage of attacks. The Super-Adaptoid spun like a tornado and launched all of Falcon's blades back at us along with a few scattered light balls.

"If the Adaptoid can steal what our moves are then we can't be ourselves." Cap called out.

"Ooh! I call handsome billionaire." Hawkeye remarked.

"You're all limited by years of experience, hardened into habit. But all my Adaptoid does is grow and change and learn." The bot's hand changed into a replica of Mjolnir, complete with the thousands of volts of electricity coming out of it. I glared at the machine. _'If I only knew what this machine's limits were then I could show Hammer what real adaptation looks like and destroy that wannabe once and for all but, I can't get cocky or I might doom us all.'_

"Learning takes too long." Hulk responded with a roar as he leapt into the air getting a taste of the lightning. The blow knocked the green giant onto the ground, hard.

"Let's try a combined assault. If we can overwhelm him, we can wipe that smirk off his face. Come on!" Iron Man ordered. As one the remaining Avengers took to the sky once more.

"Keep it occupied! We need better tools!" Cap called from below.

"Avengers, attack!" as instructed, those of us in the sky launched attacks. I upped the power slightly on my attack, Hawkeye shot arrows, Thor tried lightning again, Tony sent out missiles and Falc launched more wing blades.

"You don't think my Adaptoid can handle you all at once?" with that remark, Hammer had his bot clap its hands together creating a sonic blast, knocking everyone back and redirecting the missiles.

"Hawkeye, missiles."

"I am all over them." The archer replied, notching an arrow. The arrow flew in the middle of the stray weapons and exploded, causing the missiles to do the same.

"Good boy! But can you stand some Falcon power mixed with Thor brand lightning?" the inventor said before launching said attack. It managed to hit part of the archer's ride, taking him out of the sky.

"My hair!" he cried out as he landed in the water. Thor and I used the distraction to try to catch Hammer off guard.

"Oh, no, no, no. Sneak attack? That will not do." Thor and I were soon faced with a spinning robot that shot out missiles and explosive arrows. The god began knocking them away, seeming to be in control. I destroyed mine with just enough photons to not give the bad guy any more advantages. Unfortunately, the weapons were clearly heat seekers as they rounded Thor.

"Thor, look out!" I shouted. My warning came too late as the weapons nailed him sending him to the water. I followed close behind as the blast managed to hit one of my rocket boots, grounding me.

"All taken care of except…"

"Me!" Tony said. I knew my fellow Avengers needed help, especially since the Asgardian was knocked out cold. I dove under and quickly grabbed my friend. I swam up and soon we reached the surface. Thankfully, the god woke up.

"Thank you, Lady Castile." He said as I nodded and we swam toward the rest of our team.

"Everyone accounted for?" Tony asked. We all looked up just in time to see Captain America still in the fight. "Cap!" The Super Soldier was leading the robot back to Avenger's Tower.

We started to get ourselves out of the water and back on the ground where a conscious Hulk was waiting.

"Avengers, let's move. Cap has no idea what he's gotten into." I rolled my eyes. _'Steve may be better equipped to handle this any of us. He knew from the start'_ As if to prove my point, the Aven-Jet took to the sky. "Cap, what are you doing?" Tony questioned as he flew further into the air.

"It's called adapting." Cap spoke into his comn unit.

"Great plan. Except the Aven-Jet has a monster-sized hole in it, and any second your gonna run out of air."

"Um…I meant to do that." I mentally face palmed at that response.

"Cap, hang tight. We're on our way. ETA, two minutes."

"Okay, but just wait for my signal."

"What signal?" Tony and I asked at the same time, worry lacing each word.

"You'll know it. Got to go."

"So now what?" I question.

"We follow them and wait for Cap's signal."

"Based on their trajectory, their heading straight out of the atmosphere." Sam informed us.

"Thor and I will follow, the rest of you wait for further order. Time is of the essence."

"Hold on, Tony if we're going to teach that knockoff a lesson, let me be part of teaching staff." I said gaining blank looks. _'So quips aren't my thing after all…'_

"Ace, you're boots are damaged and in space-"

"I'll be fine if you give me a lift. After all I can adapt to anything, including space. We verified this already. I'm literally the only ace left in our sleeve. In case things are going bad. I can at least throw Hammer off his game long enough to get Steve out of there and regroup."

"Alright, you make a good point. Hang on, this is gonna be a rough flight. Thor." I grabbed onto Tony as he and Thor took to the skies.

* * *

As we got higher in the atmosphere, I felt my body begin to adapt. Before I knew it we were in space and I was perfectly fine. Just as we arrived, the Aven-jet experienced another explosion. Out of the debris came the Super-Adaptoid.

"That was the signal in case you missed it!" Captain America shouted through his comn. I released a breath I wasn't aware I was holding. The Adaptoid floated right into Iron Man's grasp.

"Time to end this, don't you think?" He said as he pushed the bot into Thor's line of fire.

"School is out for summer!" the god quipped before hammering the machine into pieces. Tony and I shared a look as he launched a unibeam and I created one long stream of photon energy at the pieces. Thor flew ahead to stop the jet from floating further out into space while my surrogate brother and I flew into it to find Captain America.

"Cap?" I called out.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are. If you're still alive." I shot the billionaire a look, telling him not to think like that. ' _Steve is better than this. I know he found a way using what he knows best.'_ "Oh, man, I still hope he's alive."

"I know he is. Don't talk like that!" I replied.

"Mari, I hate to say it but, it is a possibility."

"I know."

"Cap!" we both continued to shout as we floated through the Aven-Jet.

"Tony! Amara!" There was Cap, hanging on to a pole wearing one of Iron Man's spare masks. I smiled. _'Good old-fashioned human intuition for the win.'_

"So that was your plan? Trash the Aven-Jet and shoot it into space?"

"Don't worry, Tony. I'll lend you a book on home repair. But wait, you do know what a book is, right?" I struggled to hold back my laughter at Steve's response.

"Yeah. There are a few old-fashioned things worth keeping around."

* * *

"Okay, wait a second. So, explain to me again how you memorized all our moves without the aid of a single machine. I understand how Amara can but, you…" Tony asked later that night once we were back on Earth. I rolled my eyes, enjoying seeing him like this just a little.

"You just wouldn't understand good old-fashioned human ingenuity." Steve replied.

"Maybe. Maybe not. But I'd be willing to learn."

"You'd be learning from an expert. How else do you think he beat Hammer?" I stated while the Super Soldier and I wore knowing looks. _'This is gonna be fun'_

"In that case." Steve pulled out his Starkpad. On it was a holo-image of Tony's armor.

"Humbled and impressed in one day. I think I hate today." My surrogate brother remarked as my grin grew.

"Impressed by this? It's just something I whipped up on my handy dandy Starkpad."

"With no help from me. He did this all on his own." I added making the Captain smile. I returned the gesture and nodded my head, telling him to continue.

"Now, let's go over the battle." Steve pushed the device toward its creator. To our surprise, he pushed it away.

"Hold on. I want to take notes." Tony pulled out a small notebook and a pencil.

"Learning." Steve remarked giving him a thumbs up. The Super Soldier walked ahead of us as he led the way to find a spot to teach my surrogate brother.

"You'll help me with the parts I don't understand right, Mari?"

"Don't worry I'll Stark the speak up for you. This is a good step for you, Ton."

"Thanks, I just hope Cap, doesn't use this as a way to not only teach me but, get back at me for everything I've said to him."

"I don't think we have that kind of time." I joked as he elbowed me. I laughed as we hurried along to Tony's non-tech related reality check.

* * *

 **Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed this new chapter.** **I would like to remind you that if you have a favorite episode that you want to make sure I do please leave it in the comments and I'll do my best.** **Now for a few shout outs! Thank you to Astral Archer,** **ceceluvcookies and** **mebassett99** **for favoriting and following!**

 **Now to reply to comments!**

 **Guest: Thanks for understanding! I initially planned to do both of those episodes anyway. I have a lot planned for the episode with Sam's mom in it so hopefully that's something to look forward to.**

 **Anyway please review (no flames please!), follow and favorite if you like. Have a great day!**


	7. Hyperion

Hyperion

 *******I Do Not Own Marvel's Avengers Assemble*******

I heard the crash of meteors as they hit the buildings in the city.

"What are we looking at JARVIS?" Iron Man asked over the comns.

"A tight cluster of meteors entering Earth's atmosphere at 200.7 miles per hour. Heading straight for the eastern seaboard." JARVIS answered.

"How large a cluster are we talking about, here?"

"According to scans, an explosion in the X-36 star quadrant. A planet, sir." _'A planet?'_

"Avengers, assemble!" That was our cue to fly up and help my surrogate brother. While Falcon, Thor and I flew, the avengers that didn't have such abilities rode in the Aveng-Jet. "Thor, you're up."

The god summoned a burst of lightning to his hammer. The electricity charged up then launched at a group of meteors.

"Stones from the sky, hardly a challenge." Thor gloated.

"Then sit down, butterscotch. Leaves more for me to smash!" Hulk called out before he jumped off the jet and started crushing meteors. Unfortunately, a bigger one came toward the green giant. I flew toward and caught him.

"Ready for round two?" I joked as he nodded. I tossed him back into the fray, making a mental note to keep an eye on him.

"Well, that's using your head." Iron Man stated as he appeared next to me.

"Not funny." Hulk responded. I flew closer to the meteors as I charged up light in my hands. I launched several hits, making them explode. The Aveng-Jet flew closer and began launching a round of shots as well.

"You missed one!" Hawkeye shouted as he took off after it on his hover-bike. Instead of shooting it with an arrow, the archer jumped off the vehicle as it exploded with the space rock. "Yep, didn't think that through! Help!"

"Go limp. This is gonna hurt!" Falcon called as he flew to Hawkeye's rescue.

"What?" Falc caught him but, they had a crash landing. I quickly flew down next to them. "You call that a save?"

"You guys okay?" I ask. A sound above made all three of us look up. In the air was one lone meteor.

Luckily, Black Widow decided to use the same maneuver as Hawkeye and crash the hover-car into it. Unlike the archer, the assassin landed on her feet.

"You call that a thank you?" Widow asked, hand on her hip. I walked over and helped Sam up.

"Everybody thinks they're a hero." Hawkeye replied before standing up. "Might as well just sit back and…

"Huh?" the duo uttered as a large shadow appeared above us. My eyes widened in shock at the size of the meteorite. Iron Man scanned the meteor.

"Warning, a designate Class-Z meteorite has just entered the atmosphere. An "earth killer," sir." JARVIS analyzed.

"Earth killer?" Tony repeated. I locked my computerized-glasses on the object, hoping to find a weak point. "There's two words I never wanted to hear together." Hulk clapped his hands together and only managed to cool it off. "Avengers, go!"

Hulk and Thor took off and began trying to smash it along with my surrogate brother. I flew back into the air as I charged up my light, ready to try my light beam on it. I've been training harder at perfecting. I'm fairly certain that now was the time to unveil this new attack.

I aimed the attack for right in the middle of the meteorite. Taking a deep breath, I launched the photon beam. At first it wasn't that much of a power difference but, then I began to increase it. It started to make a hole in the rock, but it wasn't breaking through fast enough.

"Keep at it! Give it everything you've got!" at hearing my surrogate brother's words, I upped the power higher than I've ever attempted before. Sweat began to run down my face as I knew my body was starting to feel a strain. "Hulk, smash! Like you've never smashed before!" The green giant complied as he pounded the debris harder. "We can't let it hit! There's gotta be a way!"

Hulk managed to punch it so hard that a piece of the rock broke off. He jumped off the main part in order to try and stop it from hitting the ground below. "Sorry, guys. This one's just too big. If only we had more power." I took another deep breath as I tried to push myself even more. The beam grew brighter as the power in it increased, making the hole bigger but, still not enough to penetrate it. _'Come on Amara! You can do this! Focus!'_

"Been nice working with you all." Tony spoke solemnly as we tried to stop the meteorite. Suddenly, it began to glow. "Something's killing this earth killer. JARVIS?" I stopped my attack so I could scan what was going on as well.

"Scanning." The AI responded. The glow became brighter and then the meteorite became millions of smaller rocks that fell harmlessly to the ground. Iron Man, Hulk, Thor and I flew back to the ground as Cap landed the Aveng-Jet. I stumbled a bit before Tony caught me. I smiled weakly at him as he supported me. "What just happened?"

"Stark, is this your doing?" Thor questioned.

"Not on my best day."

"We've got company. Look." Black Widow observed. We turned to find a muscular man wearing a red and yellow suit complete with a yellow cape.

"I don't think he's from around here." Captain America stated as I nodded weakly. He winked and saluted at us before flying away.

"Did that dude just wink at me?" Hawkeye asked.

"Yup." Hulk confirmed.

* * *

"Looks like we got a new contender to the title "Earth's mightiest hero." Calls himself Hyperion." Tony began during a meeting we were having. He typed on his keyboard and called up video feeds of this guys 'heroics'. "A touch grandiose, even by my standards."

"On the contrary, he seems quite impressive." Thor added.

"Amara and I've been analyzing this guy for weeks. His power rating's off the charts." Sam stated.

"Heat vision, invulnerability. Super-strength, flight." I listed off.

"Just another pretty boy in a cape to me." Hulk groaned.

"Wonder how his aim is." Clint asked, an arrow set to shoot at the holographic image.

"He diced a meteor the size of the Grand Canyon into cheese cubes. I'd say accurate." Steve commented.

"I say it's time for a face-to-face. After that near-miss with the meteorite, yeah, pretty obvious we could use someone like him on the team."

"You like him 'cause he winked at you." Hulk teased.

"What makes any of you think he wants to be an Avenger? Has anyone stopped to think about what motivates this Hyperion?" Natasha stated. I nodded. While this hero seems impressive, I've come to think he might be too good to be true. And no it's not because he managed to do what I couldn't do.

"Some people hear the call to help where they can. There should always be an ideal, Widow." The Super Soldier responded while looking at a piece of the meteorite.

"Agreed, but, on the other hand, who tells the man who saved the world without breaking a sweat, "no"?"

"That's why I think its best we compile this data together and see if we can come up with any contingencies should he decide to stray from the path." I spoke.

"Contingency plan? You think we should get that detailed with a guy we haven't even shaken hands with?" Tony asked as I nodded.

"I'd rather be safe than sorry. Even if he were to become an Avenger, its like Natasha said who tells him "no" and can back up that "no"."

* * *

"A new hero for a new day! With crime on a sharp decline since his appearance, Hyperion's methods of justice may be just what this world needs." J Jonah Jameson said on his newscast before Steve turned it off.

"What?" Clint exclaimed from the couch. The Super Soldier grunted.

"I'd hate to be on the other end of that grunt." Tony commented while pouring himself a drink. I nodded.

"Let's just say speaking with this Hyperion has become a priority. Any word on-"

"I got it! I got his position." Sam cried out. He walked over to Tony and I, carrying his Starkpad. "Hyperion shares the same energy signature as those meteorite dice-"

"So all you had to do was triangulate the frequencies-" I continued

"And then-"

"No more babble. Where is Hyperion?" Thor asked, cutting off the rest of the explanation.

"Upstairs?" Our leader asked as the whole building began to rumble. "Way upstairs." He amended as a large shadow was cast over the city.

* * *

We took the Aveng-Jet to scope out Hyperion's base. From the outside it was huge. Surprisingly, there was an entrance we were able to easily get into. Almost as if he were expecting us. We exited the jet and began looking around.

"Wow!" Falcon said in awe.

"Should we be jealous that his clubhouse blows our clubhouse out of the water?" Hawkeye asked. We walked on the impressive stretch of a walkway he had, leading us to a doorway. I looked up to see the so-called hero using his heat vision to finish up a statue of himself.

"Show-off." Iron Man stated as I nodded.

"Ah, the Avengers!" Hyperion greeted as he stopped his task. He began to fly down toward us. "Welcome, I'm Hyperion. Hi!"

"Hi? Seriously?" The archer whispered to the assassin. I rolled my eyes.

"You have to wonder about his decorating skills." Falcon whispered to me and Cap.

"You mean the statue?" Hyperion asked, catching the bird off guard. "I can see why you'd think it's funny, but I find that image is really important. It's all about first impressions. Striking fear into the hearts of villains before I even throw a punch."

"Your scans missed one, guys. Super-hearing." Iron Man told my best friend and me.

"Noted." I replied.

"I cannot tell you how pleased I am to finally meet you all. I have been admiring you all from afar. Your abilities are impressive and wide-ranged. Stealth, technology, unbridled strength." Hyperion continued as he pulled up video feeds of our heroics. My eyes widened. "I mean there's a reason they call you "Earth's mightiest heroes."

"You've been studying us?" Our leader asked.

"You've been studying me too, right? It makes sense. I wanted to know what I was dealing with before I made contact. Needless to say, I was very impressed."

"Can't say the same, not yet." Captain America stated.

"Oh, I'm sorry, why?"

"Simply put, your methods are severe. Your power makes some people nervous."

"By "people" do you mean the Avengers? Surely not."

"I think what Cap is saying is…"

"We just wanna know who you are." Iron Man said, cutting off Hawkeye.

"Ah, my origin. I'm afraid it's not a happy one." He floats away from us.

"He's preaching to the choir." I comment earning a few nods.

"Quagmire, display file E-712." A holographic image of a team appeared pictured with Hyperion.

"We so need this wall." Falcon stated.

"On my planet, life was far different from yours. However, it had the same challenges. Villainy, corruption, and war had grown like a cancer on the soul of my world. I tried my hardest to carve it out, but, sadly, I failed. In the end, the corrupt people of my world wound up destroying themselves. There was nothing I could do. I barely escaped."

"So you're an alien, the last of your kind, with both amazing powers and super-intellect?"

"Indeed."

"Wow."

"You can stop geeking out anytime now, Sam." I tease.

"In case you two weren't keeping count, that's another one you missed. You're slipping." Iron Man commented.

"All that remains of my home is in this citadel. With this technology, I will use its advancements to save your planet." Hyperion continued before grabbing Thor's cape. "Nice cape."

"Save our planet?" Cap repeated. Hyperion and I both paused, having heard the same screams.

"Hold that thought, Captain. Some people don't learn from their mistakes." He began to fly the other way. 'What does he mean by that?' "Make yourselves at home, I'll be right back." We all exchanged a look, having an idea of what we needed to do.

* * *

We followed Hyperion to a bridge, where he cornered Wrecker. Just before the alien could hit him with his eye beams, Iron Man took the blast. The impact sent him flying off the bridge. I was just about to take off and save him until I saw Hulk had beat me to it.

"I hate days like this!" our leader screamed. Hulk managed to catch him, midair.

"You're welcome." The green giant stated as they rejoined us.

"Well done, Hulk." Hyperion congratulated. The two looked at the alien. "Next time, Iron Man, I would advise you to stay clear of my eye-beams when…" He didn't get to finish his thought as Cap hit him in the face with his shield.

"Stop, there is no next time." The super soldier stated.

"There shouldn't have even been a first time." I added, light charging in my hands.

"Why are you stopping me? I thought we were on the same team." Hyperion exclaimed.

"Avengers don't take lives. We save them." Captain America informed him as we all aimed our various attacks and weapons on the alien.

"But this scum adds nothing to the good of Earth. He's a parasite!"

"That may be true, but we're not judge and jury. We have laws. If we don't follow them, we're no better than the criminals."

"Stand down, Hyperion. Now." Iron Man said as he flew behind him.

"I understand." The alien spoke. 'Why do I not like the tone of his voice?'

"Great. Cooler heads, right?" Falcon commented. He breathed a sigh of relief. "Whew, for a second there, I thought you'd gone…uh-oh." We looked to see Hyperion's eyes glowing red.

"It was the same on my planet. If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem!" Hyperion sent out a few blasts before Iron Man went after him. With each blast, the bridge was getting more unstable. My surrogate brother managed to get a shot in and send the alien flying.

"Not good!" a piece of the bridge was about to fall, potentially killing multiple civilians. Luckily, Thor caught it just in time. He seemed to be struggling with it as he tried to move it back into place. I flew over to the god.

"Hold it in place and I'll reattach it." I spoke, not even sure if it would work. Thor nodded as I charged my light. I used my glasses to analyze the best spots and rate to send my light.

"I am missing the battle." The god complained.

"Just a few more seconds." I finished mending the last part and nodded for him to let go. I released a breath once Thor let go and it didn't collapse.

"That should hold. Go bring the thunder." Iron Man stated, looking at our handy work.

"At last. My hammer thirsts!" Thor exclaimed as he flew off to battle Hyperion. My eyes widened once I saw him toss the god into a satellite after grabbing his cape. I followed after the alien, not liking the idea of what he would do next.

* * *

Once I reached him, he had picked up a small boy by the scruff of his shirt. I could feel something in me stir. _'This isn't right! I have to do something'_

"Why do you fight me?" Hyperion spoke rising to the sky with the boy. I felt my speed pick up. "Must I save you even from yourselves?" As I got closer, I launched one of my light balls, only to be beaten to the punch by Captain America. Hyperion dropped the boy. As the boy fell, I used my newly enhanced speed to catch him, midair. I landed on the ground and gently put the boy down.

"Thanks…uh what's your name?" he asked. Had this happened to Sam he would have been upset, but I just chuckled.

"It's Ace!" I called to him as he began to walk out of harm's way.

"Thanks, Ace!" I smiled. Iron Man and Falcon landed next to me.

"Looks like you have a fan." Falc commented. We stood our ground and faced Hyperion, Cap joining us soon after.

"You have a lot to answer for, Hyperion. Stand down, last chance." Captain America tried.

"Last chance? That's why they said on my planet, too. But I showed them." The alien said.

"No, he couldn't have." Tony spoke, as if reading my thoughts. _'There's no way…'_ Iron Man began to take off. "Keep him busy." If there is even the slightest possibility Hyperion would go there, I would have no problem fighting him for those people.

"Tony? Tony, where are you going?" Falcon asked before joining him.

"Finally, reason. Looks like Iron Man has the most sense out of all of you." Hyperion commented, stopping Falc in his tracks.

"Oh, yeah?" Falcon flew back around and tossed some of his flash bombs, irritating the alien.

"Have to admit, didn't expect that." Hyperion flew after my best friend. I looked at Cap, who nodded at me, before taking off after them. I was surprised to see that I still had my speed boost. I arrived just in time to see Hyperion grab Falcon by the wings. "You hurt me, little one. Impressive."

"Let him go!" I shouted. I used this new found power to create a beam of light almost effortlessly. The beam hit the alien hard, releasing his grasp on Falcon. He turned to look at me, anger in his eyes. I was about to grab my best friend, but Hawkeye hit him with a foam arrow to cushion the fall.

"You pack more of a punch than I thought you would. Let's see if you can keep it up." He flew right at me. I braced myself for impact, placing my arms in front of me. We struggled for a bit before I tried to kick him in the head. The alien easily dodged it, smirking. "Looks like I was wrong about you."

I thought about those Hyperion had hurt so far and with each person I thought of it was like a spark set off in me. I tried to kick him one more time. Suddenly, my foot began to glow with light. It caught him off guard just enough for me to kick his face and free myself. Before he could recover I shot off a few light balls. They each seemed to hit their mark.

"That hurt." Hyperion flew back at me with new anger. He grabbed me by the leg and tossed me into a building. Upon impact, I felt as though my new power overflow had been cut off. I groaned. It felt as though I'd gone several round with Hulk and Thor on a bad day. I stood up, feeling my healing factor fixing whatever was the problem. I took off to the skies again. I came back to find the alien with his foot on Captain America.

"You postpone the inevitable. Why?" Hyperion asked. I started to charge the light in my hands. "A distraction!" I launched my light at the alien, catching him off guard. I charged up more light, waiting for him to strike me. "My citadel." As he flew off I approached the super soldier.

"Tony, heads up." Cap radioed as I helped him up. "Whatever you're doing, do it fast. Trouble's coming your way, at mach speed."

"If I know Tony, he's already found what he needed." I spoke. _'At least I hope you did…'_

* * *

We arrived just in time for Hawkeye to launch an arrow at Hyperion, saving Iron Man from the alien's wrath. He began to laugh.

"What, another trick arrow? Does this one explode?" Hyperion mocked.

"No, distraction arrow." The archer answered with a wink. _'Why did he just wink?'_ We all smirked before backing away. A loud crash of thunder was heard, along with a flash of lightning. On cue, Thor flew through the wall and sent the alien right into Hulk's waiting arm. The green giant slammed Hyperion into the ground.

"I believe this belongs to me." Thor spoke before regaining his cape.

* * *

"Hyperion revealed. News flash, New York! We were hoodwinked. J. Jonah Jameson is not too big to be the first to admit it. Hyperion was not a superhero." The news anchor announced from the television set in the diner we were at.

"Gotta admit it, Hyperion sucker-punched me too. Ow. For a second there, I actually wanted him to join us." Clint began as Natasha tended to his wound on his face. "I don't usually miss, but when I do, man, I miss big."

"We were all taken in. Power can be seductive." The assassin responded.

"Just glad we found out his true stripes before it was too late." Steve added.

"Where are they keeping super-psycho, anyway? I'm itching for round two." Hulk asked.

"You're gonna have to wait. A long time." Tony pushed a button on his Avengers ID card, revealing a security feed of Hyperion.

"Release me!" he cried out. The alien placed his hand on the wall. "Mark my words. There will be a coming threat. There always is. And you will find yourselves in need of me! You'll see! I am Hyperion! I am the…" Thor threw his hammer at the screen, shattering it.

"Ugh, I've heard enough." The god stated.

"Me too. I'm just glad we're done dealing with that egomaniac." I added.

"The day the world needs that fool is the day the Avengers are no longer here to defend her. Especially, the son of Asgard." Thor finished with a wink.

"You just winked at me." Hawkeye stated, slightly freaking out again. "Why does…Why does everyone keep winking at me?" The god drank the last of his drink before smashing it and the cup into the table.

"Another!" Tony just handed his hard to the waitress, already knowing this wouldn't be the last of the damage. I chuckled at their antics.

* * *

 **Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed this new chapter. Sorry I've been MIA but, with school back in session its harder to find time to write.** **I would like to remind you that if you have a favorite episode that you want to make sure I do please leave it in the comments and I'll do my best.** **Now for a few shout outs! Thank you to** **kiroroblue,** **Welcome to the New and** **Princess Serenity Angel** **for favoriting. And thank you to** **The Lady of Night** **for favoriting and following!**

 **Now to reply to comments!**

 **DigivsPoke:** **Amara does remember her life before she was taken by HYDRA which I plan on touching on during an original chapter that I'm already working on. It should be up after _Molecule Kid_. Hopefully, it'll answer some the questions you might have. I'm glad you liked it! I really want them to have little moments like that during the beginning of the series but, it will develop more later on.**

 **Anyway please review (no flames please!), follow and favorite if you like. Have a great day!**


	8. Molecule Kid

Molecule Kid

 *******I Do Not Own Marvel's Avengers Assemble*******

"Tilty-whirly-thingy?" Sam suggested.

"Nope." Clint answered, tossing a baseball in his hand.

"Log flume?" I tried.

"Nuh-uh."

"Seriously? You're gonna stand here on our one day off, knocking down milk bottles for stuffed animals?" My best friend asked. The three of us were currently standing at a game booth at a local carnival in our civilian clothes. I wore a blue-green long sleeved blouse, jeans, black flats and a necklace. Sam thought it would be fun to check it out, unfortunately, not everyone has the same idea of fun.

"You spend your day at the carnival your way, and I'll spend it my way." The archer tossed the ball. It bounced off the board next to Sam, a light post then back to the milk bottles. The man tossed Clint two green teddy bears. "Gammi bear?" he held one out to us. We exchanged a look before it was thrown into a growing pile of toys. "Well, meet me back here when you're ready to hurl."

"Man, we should've brought the Hulk." I nodded as we walked away. A few seconds later, I heard the archer scream.

"Did you hear that?" I asked. My best friend nodded at me, Avenger/SHIELD training kicking in. We looked around for a few minutes before spotting him on top of the game booth with Natasha. We both climbed up to find out what was happening.

"All I'm saying is, Tony's gonna be peeved when he finds out." Clint stated. I wasn't really sure what to make of the situation since the assassin had the archer pinned to the ground.

"Oh, Widow. It was you up here. Cool. When Tony finds out what?" Sam asked as I looked on, trying to figure out what they could be hiding.

"What's going on?" I questioned further. The duo instantly shot up.

"A different Tony…" Widow began.

"She said Tony must not owe me for our last poker game…" Clint added.

"We were talking about planning a little birthday…"

"Totally would've paid me because he's really rich." Sam and I exchanged a look. _'Do they really think we're buying this?'_

"Yes, your poker game."

"Exactly. A surprise party."

"A surprise poker party."

"For some other Tony." They grinned at us. _'Something big must be going on'_

"Fine. Keep it to yourselves. But I wouldn't cross Iron Man. Anyway, we'll be on the Viking swing." Sam said before climbing down. I gave them one last look before joining my best friend.

"Something big must be up if they're going this far to hide it." I thought aloud.

"They're both super spies so I'm sure they can handle it for now. We can go check on them after we ride the Viking swing." I gave him a look. "What? It's our day off. They can handle whatever is happening for a little while longer." He can't be serious.'

"Save me some cotton candy. I'll be back." I started walked back toward the duo. I sighed when I saw they had long since disappeared. _'If I were two super spies where would I go?'_

* * *

I was currently in the air, trying to see if I could find the duo. My glasses were scanning for their signatures. I rerouted the feed to where it wouldn't give any information to the tower or JARVIS. If they wanted to keep this a secret, the least I could do is keep it until I knew what was going on. I landed on a rooftop to try and get a better look.

"Amara? What are you doing up here?" a voice called out from behind. I nearly tripped and fell off the building I was on. Blue eyes met violet orbs as I came face to face with Steve, in full costume.

"Steve, you startled me." I replied before walking closer to him.

"I'm gonna guess we're both looking into the same thing."

"You mean Widow and Hawkeye's mysterious mission?"

"No I was talking about the chaos going on below." I looked at the place the super soldier was pointing at and felt my cheeks grow red in embarrassment. _'How did I miss a building dissolving and a car pileup?'_

"Oh."

"I'm gonna go out on a limb and say they're connected. Shall we?" I nodded before holding a hand out to him. Steve took it as I lifted both of us into the sky. We flew for a little while before finding the super spies in a pool of honey. _'Am I seeing this correctly?'_

* * *

"Perfection. Really." Hawkeye complained. I landed us right next to them. It took a few seconds for me to realize I was still holding his hand. I turned away to hide my red face, taking my hand with me.

"You look stuck." Captain America commented.

"Captain America? Ace? How…" Black Widow asked.

"I was walloping Batroc the Leaper over on 3rd when I noticed 5th had gone vertical." He held his hand out and pulled the assassin out.

"I was curious about your mission and I ran into Cap along the way." I added doing the same to Hawkeye.

"Why didn't you call in the team?"

"Because Tony cannot know this kind of power's in the city, by order of Nick Fury." Widow answered.

"Did you tell Fury our team comes first? Or does it for you?"

"You're the by-the-rules guy, Captain. Imagine if Tony no longer had to follow the rules of physics." My eyes widened at the thought. _'His ego is already big enough…'_

"Understood."

"Point taken." I stated with a nod.

"We need to keep this away from Tony. Still, aren't you the world's greatest super-spy and most expert marksman? You can't handle a kid?" I had to admit, I thought they would be fighting some big bad villain, not a scared child.

"If Hawkeye had let me deal with this instead of trying to grandstand-"

"Pulling Widow from slime, honey…She can't be left alone for a second!" Hawkeye cut in.

"Oh, brother." Captain America and I sighed.

"While you're both being right, your target is getting away." The super soldier informed.

"Help me!" the boy cried out as he dodged an attack from the Super 'Didn't Cap destroy that thing?'

"I will help myself to your wand." The machine spoke before grabbing him and taking to the skies.

"The Adaptoid? Here?" Widow exclaimed.

"Now it's a party." Hawkeye stated.

* * *

We took off after the android who still had a tight grip on the boy. _'Poor kid…'_

"Call Tony?" Hawkeye asked.

"We do not call Tony!" Black Widow responded. The archer shot off and arrow that split off into two poles connected by a string. It landed right in front of the Adaptoid, tripping it. As the machine fell, Cap used his shield to break the kid's fall while trying to slow him down.

"You're safe, son. I suggest you hand over that wand." Captain America tried. I stood in front of the two and watched the fight between Widow and the android, ready to protect the boy if need be.

"It won't work for you. For anyone. Only me." The boy stood up and pointed the wand at us. "My dad made it that way." He aimed the power of the wand at the light posts near us. They fell down and wrapped around us. Or at least in my case it tried to, my powers activated and moved me away from the pole. Cap wasn't so lucky.

"Cap!" I shouted, seeing his predicament. Before I could do anything the Super Adaptoid came running after the boy who fled the scene. I quickly activated my rocket boots and flew after them. The machine hit the ground, causing the boy to fall to the ground. I landed between it and the boy, light in hand.

"I now control this marvelous creature." The voice of MODOK spoke through the Adapoid. I was distracted by this revelation, the boy pushed me aside and ran toward the wand. "There is no point in running, boy."

"Why isn't this working?" the kid asked as he pointed the wand at the Super Adaptoid. I stood up and tackled the machine from the side while Hawkeye got the boy.

"It is working. It's an Adaptoid." The archer explained. I started punching it and managed to get a few good hits in. Just as I was about to hit it once more, it grabbed my hand and threw me off. I skid down the street and into the side of a building, creating a hole.

"Okay, that hurt." I stated as I slowly started to get back up. It was gonna take a few minutes before my healing factor would restore me back to full health. I watched as my friends fought against the android.

"You narrow-minded fools would lock the wand in a safe, but Red Skull and I will use it to reshape tomorrow!" MODOK said before firing a unibeam at the rest of the team. I made my way over to them, ready to fight again. The machine started firing on the duo of Hawkeye and the kid.

"You guys stop the Adaptoid. I'll go after the kid!" I shouted to the others.

"Are you crazy? He'll blast you with that wand the first chance he gets." Falcon responded.

"Did you forget that just like the Adaptoid, I can adapt to whatever he throws at me?" I flew back into the air and began following him.

* * *

I looked down to see Hawkeye on the ground and Molecule Man's son creating stairs out of the cement. He looked like he was trying to get to the top of a building.

"Why can't everyone just leave me alone! I'm not a bad guy!" the kid shouted. I landed on the roof in front of him. He raised the wand up in defense.

"I just wanna talk to you." I said putting my hands up defensively. "I'm not gonna try to take the wand from you while we talk." He seemed to calm down a little. "What's your name?"

"Aaron."

"Hi Aaron. Look I know you're trying to protect the last piece of your dad but-"

"Damage is being done." Black Widow interrupted as she climbed onto the building. "You can't control the power you're wielding. No one can."

"Then why should I give it to you?" Aaron asked as he lifted up the wand slightly, getting a little uneasy with the assassin around.

"Because we can make sure no one ever uses it again." She gestured to the both of us. "Giving it up now would be good. And you are a good person, Aaron." _'Oh no.'_ As soon as she let that information she was clearly given slip, I knew this wasn't going to end well. In the early stages of being free from HYDRA, if anyone came in claiming to know me that wasn't Tony, I instantly became standoffish.

"How do you know my name?"

"Don't bother trying to trick him out of it, Widow. He already knows we want the wand just like everyone else." Hawkeye interjected. _'As if this could get any worse'_

"What are you doing?" Widow snapped. I noticed Aaron lifted the wand back up.

"That touchy-feely stuff never works."

"Wait guys why don't you let me try-"

"Stand back and let me talk to him, maverick to maverick." The archer said cutting me off while he brushed past me and closer to Aaron. "You're doing your own thing, kid. Following in the old man's footies. A rebel. I get that."

"The buddy angle scenario doesn't work with teens." The assassin interrupted as she pushed Hawkeye away. "Pathetic. Maybe I should've brought Iron Man."

"Who's rescued you from sticky situations twice today? Iron Man? Puh-lease!"

"I was not rescued. Ugh! I should've just handled this myself!" _'That's it!'_

"Stop fighting!" Aaron and I shouted, making the duo look at us.

"That's all my dad ever did with this thing. That's why my mom went away. That's why my dad got sent away! And I've had enough of it!" the boy shouted. _'What? That's what this kid's been through? I have to help him'_

"Aaron." I tried to place a hand on his shoulder but, he brushed me off.

"I have the power now. I didn't want to use it but people…you people gave me no choice!" The wand was sparkling with power. The blast from the wand covered the city. I could feel my body trying to adapt with the distorted environment.

"Molecule Man couldn't do this, could he?" Hawkeye asked.

"Definitely not." Widow confirmed. "I can't believe I'm saying this but maybe we should call-"

"Iron Man?" our leader spoke as he flew in behind us. "Looks like you need a hand. One with a repulsor ray." My surrogate brother raised a finger.

"Wait! Tony don't!" I tried but, he didn't listen to me as he fired a repulor ray at the kid. He knocked the boy down, restoring the city back to normal.

"That was remarkably easy." He walked toward the boy and I moved back toward him. "What have you been doing this whole time?" Tony picked up the wand.

"Tony, give me the wand." Black Widow stated.

"I assume Fury told you to keep this from me." I kneeled down next to Aaron.

"Tony…"

"Think what I could do with molecular manipulation. Turn the moon into a green-energy battery. Transmute Jersey into…What's the opposite of Jersey?" I stood up and walked over to Tony.

"You see?"

"Okay, okay. You were right." Hawkeye admitted. "Tony, we got this handled."

"And we don't need your help."

"Ton, give us the wand before anything else can get distorted." I spoke easily.

"I wouldn't take credit for this mess if I were any of you. I would've at least brought a Hulk or something." I noticed movement behind him.

"Uh Tony."

"You think I'm just some weak kid? That wand gives me powers even you Avengers don't have!" Aaron exclaimed as he stood up. He snatched the wand out of my surrogate brother's hand. "And you can never make it work! Only me!" Tony smacked the wand out of his hands, breaking it.

"I got it!" The duo called getting ready to catch the pieces.

"No!"

"Which part of your plan is this?" they both held up a sparkling piece of the wand. The same energy wave that Aaron created before happened again, this time more unstable.

"I don't think that's a good thing." Iron Man said as he picked up the boy and tried to fly out of range. I followed the pair.

"Help me? After what I've done?" the boy asked.

"It's just what we do." We picked up the pace but, I knew we were gonna get caught in the blast. "We're not gonna outrun this flash, kid." Tony and I landed on the ground. Aaron ran from Iron Man's grip. The world around us looked really different and not in a good way.

"Everything's gone."

"It's…It's incredible. It's like reality is broken. It can't lock in. But, actually, these are the building blocks of the universe, and we can…We can see them."

"You can be astounded by this mess later, Tony. Right now we need to figure out how to undo it."

"What happened?" Hawkeye asked.

"Breaking the wand caused a rift. We got pulled through. We're looking at the world on a molecular level." Tony observed.

"Nice. Great. Can we go home now?" Widow pointed at the wand piece in her hand. "Oh, right."

"Figures the only thing my dad left for me turns out to be nothing but trouble." Aaron grabbed the pieces back as he spoke. "I thought I could do good, clear his name, and now…and now I've ruined everything!"

"You haven't ruined everything. Not yet." Iron Man stated while the archer and I comforted the boy.

"You were given a lot of power and no one was around to show you how to use it." Aaron looked at me as I spoke. "I know what it's like. My parents gave me powers to save my life. Because of me…they're gone now." I pulled a locket out of my shirt and opened it. "This is all I have left of them. They told me it was very special and as long as I have it, I'll always carry a piece of them with me. I know that with everything I've done in my life now, I know they'd be proud." I put the necklace back. "If we get out of this mess, you can still do good with the wand." I smiled as he smiled back at me.

Suddenly, The Super Adaptoid slammed right into me, knocking me to the ground. To ensure it wasn't going to face any other opposition, the machine punched the other members of the team to the ground. I looked up to see both wand pieces in its hands

"This kind of power belongs in my hands alone!" MODAK's voice cackled as he dropped the pieces. I stood up. The machine's hands were sparkling with energy from the wand. I stood in front of Aaron, ready to protect the boy. With willpower alone, it caused a building to disappear into a sphere of energy. _'Please tell me that's not what I think it is'_

"Tony, what is that?" Captain America asked.

"Bad news. That's a black hole. And there is no good news. MODOK is adapting the wand's powers, and he's about to destroy this rift from the inside out, us included." Iron Man answered. _'Just as I feared'_ We all ran forward, ready to defeat the Adaptoid. "Avengers Assemble! Cap, Falcon, get its arms. Widow, Hawkeye, the legs. Ace, go for the head."

"I have nothing to fear from you." MODOK shouted from the Adaptoid. We all grabbed the part we were ordered to grab.

"What about you?" Aaron asked Tony.

"Me? I'm all heart." Iron Man said before firing a repulsor blast.

"Your power is nothing but feeding me. More. More!" The machine laughed maniacally. The black hole started to grow.

"Need a better plan." I could hear the strain in his voice. Aaron ran toward the wand pieces and picked them up just as the Adaptoid knocked us of it. The pieces sparkled with power that the boy shot at the machine.

"My wand doesn't work on organic stuff. I'm guessing your suit isn't." the boy said as the power of the wand started consuming the machine.

"Oh! He destabilized the suit's molecules! I can't adapt!" Adaptoid cried out before being consumed by the energy.

"Kid, you may have just bought us some precious time." Tony stated.

"Uh, we have a bigger problem." Falcon interrupted. We looked and saw the black hole consuming other buildings around us. "If we blink out of existence, existence blinks out of existence."

"Deep. Whatever that meant." Hawkeye commented.

"We need you, Aaron." Widow stated as she walked toward him.

"You don't need me. Nobody does. You just want this thing my dad made, and as soon as you get it, I'll be alone again." He responded. The pieces fell from his hands. "I thought I could be different, do something good with it, but I'm…Just like my dad."

"That's not true! Look I never knew your dad but, I think you've already proven you're not like him. Would your dad attack the Adaptoid to help us? I doubt it. We need you Aaron. Not for your dad's wand but, because I know you're special. You've just gotta believe you can change the hand you've been dealt." I spoke putting an arm around him.

"Here's your chance to do just that." The archer added while putting a hand on his free shoulder.

"You wielded enough power to set the world on its side. But it's likely that you and you alone can wield enough power to set it back." Black Widow added.

"Not with a stupid broken power wand." Aaron said hopelessly. The duo picked up a piece of the wand each.

"If you have the parts of something…" Hawkeye began.

"…you can put it back together." The assassin finished.

"Like anyone would trust me with that kind of power again." The boy responded.

"There may be no better hero for this job, kid. Can you help us?" Tony asked.

"Hero? Me?"

"Yes you, Aaron. If that's what you really want." I added.

"Tony…" Cap called out.

"How about making that decision quick. Because the Adaptoid is almost adapted." Aaron grabbed the pieces from the duo after hearing Iron Man's words.

"I'll try." Aaron spoke. He pushed the pieces together, making it almost whole. He summoned its power and aimed it into the void. "I don't have enough power to stop it from collapsing. I need help."

"This isn't just about power, kid. That wand works because you want it to work." Tony ran to the boy. He fired off a beam of energy.

"I can give you some extra juice, but, you have to fix it yourself." The boy stopped firing. He focused on the wand making it complete. He joined Iron Man in trying to fix this mess. Our leader left the boy to do this alone. The power started to increase, appearing to do something.

"The Adaptoid finished adapting and stood up. Captain America readied his shield as the bot rushed at him. He wasn't going to be able to hold it off on his own. I ran toward him and pushed on the shield with him. Soon Tony and the rest of the Avengers joined us, giving Aaron more time. Widow grabbed one of Hawkeye's arrows and handed it to him.

"Teamwork." He stated as he tossed the arrow under the machine, causing an explosion. It was launched right over us  
As reality started to return to normal, the Super Adaptoid fell off a building. Falcon, Iron Man and I flew off the building to finish the job. Tony shot off the legs, Sam destroyed one arm while I took out the other with a light ball. Cap jumped off the building and cut off its head with his shield.

"Glad I could help, especially since Fury didn't even want me here." Our leader stated. As if on cue, the Tricarrier appeared in the sky.

"Uh-oh. Hall monitor." The archer commented.

"I'm afraid this is not quite over." Widow added. I flew back onto the building to join them.

"You were not supposed to be on this mission." Fury yelled. He turned his attention to the assassin. "And you were supposed to make sure he wasn't on this mission."

"Ooh-hoo! Busted!" Falcon mocked as he landed.

"You know, Nicky, you were right. The wand's power is too tempting, even for me." Tony said.

"Secrets have a way of getting out, Fury." The archer stated.

"We should've told our team, trusted them." Widow added.

"Us, we can deal with later. Right now, what do we do with junior?" I patted Aaron on the back and smiled. I walked up closer to Fury with him. "Seems like he wants to walk the path. Not exactly Avengers level yet, but maybe, with a little encouragement?"

"The son of a villain is hero material?" Director Fury asked.

"You're asking a former HYDRA experiment if that type of change is possible?" I retorted, eyebrow raised.

"He is a bright young man with potential." Black Widow stated.

"SHIELD's got a program training some high school recruits. Right, Nicky?" Hawkeye added.

"Kid, you're lucky to have recommendations from the best of the best." Fury spoke.

"Really?" Aaron asked.

"We'll discuss it over lunch on the Tricarrier." The two began walking toward he ship. The boy turns around.

"Thank you."

"If you ever need anything. Don't hesitate to ask." I state. He turns to follow Fury.

"I have to congratulate you for today, Avengers." Tony stated.

"For keeping you in the dark?" Widow tried.

"For hiding a mission from you?" Hawkeye attempted.

"No. That I'm still peeved about. But this kid may finally have a chance at a future. Take it from me, that's a real victory for both of you." Our leader responded.

"Thanks." Black Widow said holding up a fist.

"Pozhaluista." Hawkeye responded pounding his fist against hers.

* * *

"So what do you say, Fury?" I asked over the communication system later that night

"You're asking me to let you monitor Molecule Man's son's training. Not to mention let you talk with him outside of the Tricarrier." The eye patch wearing man stated.

"I think I said help AARON train. I'm the only one that can actively help him use this power for good on his own terms. I heard parts of his story and-"

"And you feel for the kid and just want to help him."

"Tony was there for me and helped me when I was…transitioning. He doesn't need to be treated as another soldier. Remember you tried that with me and I nearly made a hole in the Tricarrier? This would be good for him. I wouldn't do it all the time, just a few times a week."

"Think you can handle being responsible for someone else?"

"I'll do my best." He nodded as the transmission ended.

"I didn't think you were so passionate about this." I jumped slightly at the voice behind me. I turned and was face to face with Tony.

"You startled me, Ton."

"Sorry. So you wanna tell me more about your…mentorship."

"I heard his story and it just reminded me of a scared little girl who had to hide her powers because her parents were gone. I can't let someone with that much power and no guide continue on like this. I've seen what Fury does for training and it's not exactly kid friendly. We met the kids in his program before Spider-Man joined them. They were like little soldiers. A boy like that would fight off being a soldier and regress back to what we saw today."

"I hate when you're right, Mari. Just be careful and don't get too attached to the kid."

"You got it. Now any chance you've seen Sam? He owes me some cotton candy." My surrogate brother laughed as we walked out of the room.

* * *

 **Hey guys! Sorry I've been MIA for a while. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this new chapter. Just a reminder guys that if you have a favorite episode please let me know and I'll be sure not to skip it otherwise I make no promises that it'll be included. Shout out time! Thank you to Plexi Pink, Che Kay Liv and Mipsymipp6 for favoriting, Armorman 452 and emilyblue1712 for following and 7W1N4RM4G3D0N5 and geekgirl72 for favoriting and following!  
**

 **Onto reviews!  
**

 **Wowza03: I thought the same thing when I first watched that episode. Since Amara is really not that trusting at first, I wanted to make her the one that was the most skeptic of the group. Glad you liked it!  
**

 **Thank you all so much for the response to this story and all the kind words! You guys rock! Anyway please review (No flames please!), follow and favorite if you like. Have a great**


	9. Home

**Home**

I stood in the living room with the others. We just stopped a new villain, Attuma, from flooding all of New York. I'm glad we stopped him but, seeing all the water really made me miss Clatoo, my home. I looked out the window at the body of water below. It was in vain because nothing could truly compare to the beauty of the ocean on the beach I'd sit on every morning to watch the sunset.

 **~~~~~Iron Man's POV~~~~~**

Mari was really starting to worry me. She hadn't moved from the window since we sent Attuma back to the sea. Hopefully my surprise for her would make her happy. It always did. _'Now if Cap could only hurry up.'_

"You okay, Tony?" Sam asked, taking me out of my thoughts.

"I'd feel better if Amara didn't look so…down." I answered, knowing he was just as worried about the girl.

"She's been like that for a while now. Any idea on why?"

"I have a hunch but, I'm already working on cheering her up. Just gotta wait on Steve."

"He's picking up lunch for six picky Avengers. It still might be a while."

"I was afraid you'd say that."

"Hey any idea what's keeping Cap?" Hawkeye called out.

"Aye. The Captain is taking a long time to return with our meal. Do you think he could be engaging in combat?" Thor responded.

"Nah he's probably just taking a while because he has to go all over town because no one could agree on one place." Sam stated.

"Not my fault I'm not into that fancy stuff Stark wanted. I'm more of a burger and fries kinda guy. At least I'm not making him go from the shwarma place to the pizzeria across town." The archer commented, earning glares from Hulk and Thor.

"You gotta problem with pizza?" Hulk asked, getting in the archer's face.

"No. Not at all. I love pizza wish I'd ordered it now." Hawkeye held his hands up defensively. Just in time to save the archer, the elevator opened, revealing the Super Soldier. The trio didn't need to be told twice as the Asgaurdian, green giant and archer all ran toward him.

Sam and I laughed at their antics. I peeked through the corner of my eye to notice Mari hadn't even moved. _'Normally, she'd try to keep the peace until the unlucky person walked in the room.'_

"Remind me not to volunteer to get lunch when it's not a specified food day." Steve spoke as he was finally able to get free. Thankfully, the lunches belonging to Sam, Steve, Amara and me were unharmed. "I think these are yours and Amara's lunches. Where is she?" Sam pointed to the window. "She still hasn't moved?"

"Yeah but, you just brought in the trick that always seems to cheer her up." I spoke before snatching the box from his hands. I walked toward the blonde and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Lunch is served." She looked at me before grabbing the container.

"Oh. Nigiri. Thanks, Ton." She spoke sadly. _'Normally her eyes light up when she sees the platter. Especially the smelly saba sushi. Now I'm really worried.'_

"I almost forgot. When I was walking back into the building, I grabbed the mail. Amara, there's a letter for you." Steve said as he walked up to us. The violet eyed girl took the small envelope from him. I gestured for him to leave with me.

"Now I'm really starting to worry. Sushi always cheers her up. I get her the freshest there is in all of New York." I stated once we were back with Sam.

"Sushi? That was your big idea."

"What? She loves it! When I first introduced it to her, she couldn't get enough. Said it reminded her of some of the dishes she would eat on the island."

 **~~~~~Ace's POV~~~~~**

Seeing the sushi only made me miss home that much more. I would watch the fishermen while playing with my friends on the beach. Tai and Malina. My parents were friends with their parents so naturally we became friends.

I looked at the envelope in my hands. _'No return address? Strange.'_ Despite this thought I opened it anyway. There was a small piece of paper inside. My eyes widened once I saw the handwriting it was written in. _'No way!'_

"I can't believe it!" I spoke aloud once I was done reading it. Everyone turned toward me.

"What's so unbelievable, Mari?" Tony asked, his voice seemed more curious than usual.

"This is a letter from my friend, Tai! We grew up together before I was taken on Clatoo!"

"Don't just leave us hanging. What's it say?" Sam asked, just as curious as Tony.

"It says

 ** _Dear Amara,_**

 ** _Or should I call you Ace? Anyway. I was so glad to hear you were alive. When you were taken, Malina and I were so scared. I never thought I would ever see you again._**

 ** _I wish I were contacting you on better terms. The war has gotten worse. It has become a civil war. Our home is the only place that hasn't taken a side in the war. There are more conquerors that have come and changed the minds of people. I do not wish for you to get yourself involved but, I wish to see you._**

 ** _Our home is the only safe haven left. My family would like to see you again as well. It is Ali's birthday soon and she wishes to see you. Please say you will come. I would like to catch up with you, as would Malina._**

 ** _Your friend,_**

 ** _Taiyari._**

I can't believe this guys! I thought he would have forgotten about me. Him and Malina I mean."

"What are you saying, Amara?" Steve asked. _'Why doesn't he sound happy. More like…um…I'll think of the word eventually.'_

"I want to go visit. Just for a day. Please?" I turned my question to Tony. He thought about it for a moment.

"Tony, you can't really think about letting her go? The civil war in Clatoo is a territorial issue between Latveria and HYDRA. There's no guarantee her home is safe."

"Cap, you really think I'm gonna let Amara go into that mess…without anyone going with her?" my surrogate brother responded.

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" I asked, hoping I was right.

"Anyone up for an island vacation?" I smiled.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

"Just for twenty-four hours, then we come home. Go pack we leave in a few hours. This isn't a mandatory trip so everyone going meet at the Aveng-Jet at 1600 hours."

 **~~~~~Iron Man's POV~~~~~**

I went to prep the Aveng-Jet for the trip when I heard footsteps behind me. _'Pretty sure I know who this is.'_

"If you wanted to chat with me. All you had to do was ask." I said as I came face to face with Captain America.

"Tony, are you really going through with this?" the Super Soldier asked.

"I'm about to go prep the Aveng-Jet as we speak. So yeah. Pretty sure I am."

"Amara spent years imprisoned by HYDRA and you want to let her go back into a place that could be crawling with HYDRA agents."

"Mari's a big girl, Cap. She can take care of herself. Plus, I'll be there."

"Even in that guy's letter he said that people were picking sides. How do we know he hasn't and this isn't some trap to get her back for HYDRA?"

"Is that what this is about?" I laughed.

"Why are you laughing? This is serious Tony! He could be a HYDRA spy!"

"It's normal to be jealous. Am I thrilled about it? Not particularly but, you're a little rusty when it comes to these things so I'll let it slide. Just let Mari have this, okay?" I patted a stunned Super Soldier on the shoulder before walking off. _'If he likes Amara, he better be glad I'm more concerned about her. Otherwise he'd wish he still had some of the ice he was frozen in.'_

 **~~~~~Captain America's POV~~~~~**

"What are you talking about? I'm not jealous!" I responded, feeling my face go hot.

"Sure you're not Cap. Don't worry we all get jealous when our crushes start talking about other guys. Love to stay and talk more about my surrogate sister but, it's really weird and I've got work to do." Tony replied before rounding the corner.

I started walking back in the other direction. _'Jealous? Why would I be jealous? Amara is my teammate and friend. Her life was stolen from her and now she wants to go back just because some guy sent her a letter.'_

"I do not like Amara like that!"

"Keep telling yourself that Cap." Hawkeye said as he came into view. I just now realized I said that last part aloud. "Relax. There's no way Amara could have heard you. She's busy packing in her room."

"What did you mean by 'keep telling yourself that'" I asked the archer.

"If you wanna keep denying it. Go ahead I won't judge you either way."

"Why are you and Tony so convinced I like Amara? He even thinks I'm jealous of this Tad guy."

"Well judging by the fact you just called him Tad instead of Tai. It's a safe bet." I sighed in exasperation. _'I can't believe these guys.'_ "Look you don't have any reason to be jealous. This guy could look like a total dork. You still have a chance my man."

"Really? Thanks." Hawkeye patted me on the shoulder and continued on this way. I realized what I just said. "Not that I care or anything!"

"Sure you don't!" I sighed again. _'I just can't win today.'_

 **~~~~~Ace's POV~~~~~**

I hummed as I grabbed a few things. I wanted to take a camera with me to take pictures. This way I could bring back some part of my home. The last place I was ever normal. It was going to be…different. Maybe I could even find some of my belongings that stayed behind when I was kidnapped. I turned once I heard a knock on the door.

"Oh! Hi Steve." I greeted before returning to grabbing a few things. I wanted to take something to give as a gift to my friends. Especially since it was Ali's birthday.

"I'm gonna cut to the chase, Amara. Are you sure it's a good idea to go to Clatoo?" the Super Soldier asked. I frowned.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't it be? I'm not the same scared little girl who couldn't defend herself. I'm an Avenger now."

"Even Avengers aren't invincible. You haven't heard from those people in years. They could be setting a trap to get you back for HYDRA."

"Those people were the only ones who took care of me after my parents were killed. I grew up with them." _'Why is he getting so worked up over this?'_

"I just don't want you to get caught up in the moment. Take it from me, it's easy to get caught up in the past."

"I know what I'm doing. Besides, I really need this. Ever since we fought Attuma, I've missed my home. I guess seeing all that water made me want to go back to a time when I was normal."

"What makes you think that's the only place you can feel normal? Those people might have been able to do so then but, haven't we been doing that now."

"I want to go see my home. See Tai and Malina again. I'm going! You can stay if you want. Now If you'll excuse me, I need to finish packing." He didn't seem happy as he walked out of my room. _'Why does he care so much?'_ I shook away the thoughts. I wasn't going to let him ruin my good mood.

* * *

I sat in my seat on the Aveng-Jet. Tony and I were ready to go but, there was still a little time let before we officially said we'd leave. I gave him the coordinates to the actual location of my home. Sam sat next to me. He claimed he wanted to see the island I grew up on. I knew that he also wanted to meet Tai and Malina. As my current best friend he felt he need to know my childhood friends, especially Tai. He was my best friend back then.

Clint and Hulk were also there. The duo might have just wanted to go for the promise of an island escape and probably the food. Whatever their reason for being there, I was glad to have more people coming with me. I was nervous to see my home again.

"Doesn't look like anyone else is coming along for the ride. Let's get ready to take off." Tony stated.

"Wait! Look!" After Sam said those words, I turned to see Steve running to get on board. I smiled. _'Maybe he changed his mind.'_

"Room for one more?" He asked, looking at me.

"Of course." I said with a smile.

"We're losing daylight people. Buckle up! Next stop, Clatoo." My surrogate brother announced.

* * *

The trip wasn't too long. I was so happy that we'd be arriving a little after sunrise. Just watching the water below was making me excited. A piece of land started to appear below.

"There it is! It's Clatoo!" I exclaimed, waking up Clint. "I'm home." Everyone started to look out below and see what I was so happy about. Within a few minutes, Tony landed the ship on the beach. Luckily, we didn't come across enemy fire along the way.

"Wow this view is really something. No wonder you missed it, Mara." Sam stated as we walked off the ramp.

"So where's the party with all the food we were promised." Hulk asked. Just as those words were out of his mouth, people came out of the bushes, guns pointed at us. We put our hands up in defense.

"Not the kind of party we were looking for." Clint commented.

"Who are you?" one of the men asked. I stepped forward.

"We mean you no harm. We were invited here by Taiyari Sekibo to celebrate Citlali's birthday with the Sekibo family." I stated. They seemed to ease up a bit.

"How do we know we can trust what you say?"

"Take us to the Elders if you don't believe us. Tell them it is Amara Castile, daughter of Jackson and Allison Castile." At those words, the men lowered their guns slightly with wide eyes.

"Follow us." My team and I exchanged looks before following the locals.

* * *

We were led into a large building and into a room filled with three men. I was surprised I recognized each of them. They were considered the Elders even when I was a kid.

"Why have you brought outsiders into our domain, Necali?" the man on the left with a bald head asked.

"They claim to have been invited by the Sekibo family for Citlali's birthday. The girl claims to be the daughter of Jackson and Allison Castile." The man now known as Necali answered.

"Bring one of them from their home to verify this. We do not need spies and traitors entering these grounds." The man with a beard on the right ordered. Necali bowed before leaving the room. I noticed the man in the middle staring at me.

"Are you really Jackson and Allison's daughter?" the long haired middle man asked me. I nodded.

"Yes sir. My name is Amara Chloe Castile. My parents were doctors that wanted to help the people of Clatoo." I answered.

"I never thought we'd see you again child."

"Achcauhtli, you do not actually believe she is that girl? She was taken by the conquerors years ago." The bearded man spoke.

"It's very unlikely she's the same girl." The bald man added.

"I can prove it." I spoke. I walked forward to them. Once I was in front, I opened the locket from around my neck, revealing the picture of my parents and I. Their eyes widened at the picture.

"Amara?" We all turned at the sound of the voice. In the doorway stood a tall man with sun kissed skin, brown hair and light brown eyes. "It's me. Taiyari."

"Tai?" I spoke. He nodded. "Tai!" I ran toward my childhood friend and hugged him. He kissed me on both cheeks before releasing me.

"It is good to see you again, Amara." I giggled slightly. "I sent a letter to Amara and invited her to celebrate with my family." He looked around at the other Avengers. "I see you brought your new friends. Elders, these are the Avengers. Earth's Mightiest Heroes."

"It is an honor to meet such heroes of legend." The bearded man stated.

"Iktan is right. You Avengers are welcome here as long as you do not cause any trouble." Achcauhtli stated. The Elders, Tai and the rest of the Avengers and I looked at Hulk.

"What?" the green giant asked.

"Are you sure we should allow these outsiders to stay?" the bald man questioned.

"Surem, I am sure they would not stay long. Right?" Iktan asked.

"We were only planning to stay for a day." Tony assured them.

"And not a moment later." Surem barked. _'I forgot he was just as bad as Fury.'_

"Come, the festivities are about to start." Tai spoke, breaking the building tension between the Elders and my team. We followed the native out of the room.

"Man I was way off." Clint whispered. _'I wonder what he means by that?'_

* * *

I looked around at the town around us as we walked. It looked so different from when I was a kid. The streets that used to be filled with children playing and adults conducting business, were empty.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked as we followed Tai.

"Yeah, it's just that, there used to be so much life to these streets. Now everything is so…different." I answered.

"Things are not as you left them but, those that are left have found a way to try to maintain our way of life." Tai answered.

"Is all this silence due to the war?" Steve asked. I frowned. _'Of all the things to ask.'_ I knew the Super Soldier must be used to seeing places like this after his time during World War II.

"We used to be able to find a way to endure when it was just HYDRA. However, the conquerors are very persuasive and have managed to turn people to their side." I grabbed Tai's hand and began to hurry along, I really didn't want to make him sad before we arrived on what should be a happy day.

 **~~~~~Falcon's POV~~~~**

"So what do you think of this place so far? Pretty neat huh?" I asked the others.

"If by neat you mean a ghost town then yes." Steve answered. He was barely looking at me.

"Something bothering you, Steve?"

"I'll tell you what's wrong. Cap's just upset because his crush is all over her old friend." Clint answered.

"I told you I don't like her that way." The Super Soldier responded in exasperation.

"Look, Amara probably went ahead because she didn't like where the conversation was going. Bringing up war is not a good subject. They use these celebrations to try to forget the bad." I informed them. _'If Cap says he doesn't like her I'll believe him.'_

"Their streets are empty and most of them have family that have chosen a side. That's not something anyone can forget easily."

"When she was a kid, the adults would try to make it as easy as possible for the kids to just be kids. Everyone would turn out for a birthday party. Just so they wouldn't worry so much about what's going on outside of the borders."

"Wow no wonder she jumped ship." The archer commented.

"Just try to have fun and let her enjoy the moment. She wants to walk down memory lane." The two nodded as we continued on. Tai led us into a medium sized house. There were maybe twenty people who were sitting at a table happily chatting. They all became quiet once they saw us.

"Today is a joyous day. Not just because it is Citlali's birthday. A very good friend of ours has return to help us celebrate along with friends of hers." Tai spoke before putting an arm around Amara. "Amara Castile, daughter of Jackson and Allison Castile, is back." The crowd erupted into cheers of joy as they descended on the pair. Tai guided Amara while the rest of us were being swarmed with people who had questions for us about our heroics.

 **~~~~~Ace's POV~~~~~**

I was having a great time catching up with everyone. It felt almost like old times. Tai guided me through the sea of people around us. I felt a pang once I heard the fate of people I used to know. As with how it was when I was younger, we smiled and moved on.

"Amara?!" a female voice called out. I turned around and met a young woman with dark brown eyes and reddish brown hair. "Tai, release the poor girl so I can give her a hug." Tai did as she asked and I was engulfed in a hug.

"Malina?!" I spoke once she released me. The girl nodded and we hugged again. "How have you been? How's your family?" she frowned slightly.

"We have been trying to manage as best we can. Things have gotten a little bit worse for us. We still have our boat so we were able to bring in the seafood we will be eating."

"I remember we would all go out on the boat when we were kids."

"The meal is prepared and ready to be shared with all of you." A woman who I assumed was Tai's mother called.

"Come let us go to the dining room." Tai spoke holding a hand out to me. I smiled before taking it.

There was a variety of seafood on the table in front of us. Everyone grabbed a plate and took a seat at one of the various tables. Tai led me to a table with his immediate family, Malina and my team.

"This is arguably the best seafood I've ever had." Clint commented. The Sekibos, Malina and I laughed at his antics. The archer and Hulk were eating like it was about to jump off the plate.

"I'm glad you are enjoying it." Malina said with a smile.

"I just might have to order imported fish from this area." Tony stated.

"I told you this place has some of the best seafood in the world." I responded.

"As long as you keep it coming I'm happy." Hulk stated between bites. Suddenly, the ground started to shake.

"What's happening?" Steve asked. The people started running back into the house.

"Everyone get inside to shelter!" Tai shouted. I grabbed Tai's hand.

"What's going on here?" I asked.

"We are under attack. Both sides are searching for something that could win the war for them. Come let's go. It will stop after a while."

"We can't just let them keep doing this!" the Super Soldier exclaimed.

"No please. They will stop at night fall. If we engage them we will pay the price." The house began to shake violently. I activated my rocket boots.

"If we don't do something the building's going to collapse." I said before flying off. Not too far away there was a group of men around a cave with drilling equipment. One of them pointed at me and they pulled out guns and fired at me. I moved out of the way of the blasts as fast as I could.

"Keep drilling! We'll shoot this little runt out of the sky!" the man I assumed was the leader shouted. The rumbling of the ground got stronger.

I glared at them as they attempted to shoot me down. I created light in my hands and fired it at the machine and guns. I managed to disable each of the guns with little effort. I landed on the ground and charged at them, the machine was my goal. _'There's too many of them! I just need an opening.'_ I began charging my light to create a beam. Once I felt it was powered up enough, I looked for an opening. I jumped into the air and fired, destroying the machine.

"Stop this! You are endangering these people who want nothing to do with your war. If I find you out here again, I will not be so merciful." I spat at the fallen men. Judging by their outfits, they weren't HYDRA.

"Amara!" I turned around and saw my team, Tai and Malina running toward me.

"Looks like you got it handled here." The archer stated looking at the scene before him.

"I knew you had amazing powers but, I never knew just how powerful you were." Malina marvled.

* * *

"Let us celebrate our heroine: Ace!" Tai spoke raising a glass. Everyone sitting around us mimicked his gesture and cheered. I blushed from all the attention.

"Our celebration and home would have been ruined. Thank you for your help." Tai's sister Ali thanked me.

"Clatoo will always be my home. I'm not going to sit by and let it be destroyed by invaders." I answered, earning many cheers from the group around us.

"If only you were staying longer. The island would be a safe place once again."

"Amara, why do you not stay longer. With your help our safe haven would truly be safe." The girl looked away quickly, afraid she'd said something wrong. I wasn't sure how to respond because the rest of my team had uneasy looks. Tai grabbed my hand.

"You know? Ali is not wrong. If you were to stay, you could protect us. Maybe even be able to free our home. You could stay here with my family." I looked at Tai.

"Can I have some time to think about this?" I responded.

"Mari, are you serious?" Tony asked surprised. I nodded. Steve stood up and walked outside. _'What's got him so upset?'_

"I'm gonna go see how he's doing" Sam stated before running outside.

"I know it might seem sudden but, this is the place my parents wanted to protect. It would make them proud to know I'm at least considering saving the place that was home to them in their final years." I answered my surrogate brother.

"It is getting late. Come let me show you to where you all will be staying." Tai said, hoping to ease the tension in the room.

* * *

"Pst. Mari." Tony called once we were in the Sekibo's guest room.

"Yeah, Ton?" I asked.

"I just want to let you know that no matter what you decide to do, I'll respect your choice." My eyes widened. _'I didn't expect that'_

"Really?" he nodded. I looked into his eyes and could see the pain it was causing him to say this. After he rescued me, Tony always seemed to put me before himself. Everyone noticed that around me he wasn't he usual selfish self. This was one of those moments. "I don't know what to say."

"You don't need to say anything. Just as long as it's a place you can call home." Our leader chose that moment to go to bed. I sat in silence, other than the snoring of the others. I sighed. _'I need some air'_ I got up and began walking out of the room.

 **~~~~~Falcon's POV~~~**

"Cap!" I called out. Even though it was a small place, the Super Soldier managed to evade me. Eventually, I heard a noise. "Cap?" I continued on and saw Steve throwing his shield at a tree.

"Why am I getting so worked up about this?" he spoke as he walked to grab his shield.

"That's what I came to find out." The Super Soldier turned to look at me.

"The team send you out to look for me?"

"No. I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I'm not so sure. Something about this whole thing seems off." I opened my mouth to say something. "And don't say it's because I'm jealous of Tai."

"I won't but, maybe this place hits a little too close to home for you."

"How so?"

"Well before you were frozen, there was a war going on, so maybe being back in a warzone is making you weary. Since this is Amara's home maybe it's making you feel worse because its where a friend of yours is from."

"I guess that makes sense. I just wish Amara wouldn't jump into this. I looked at the uniform the men were wearing, they weren't HYDRA. Plus, if there's another weapon out here we can't let her give them another."

"I hear you but, did you notice the look on her face?"

"No?"

"She was surprised and a little scared. She loves her life in New York with the Avengers but, she remembers her roots are here on Clatoo. Can you blame her for at least considering it?"

"No. I guess not." I started to walk back to Tai's.

"Are you coming?"

"I'll be there soon. I just need another minute." I nodded and began the walk back. _'Hopefully, he can accept whatever Mari decides to do.'_

 **~~~~~Ace's POV~~~~~**

 _'What am I going to do?'_ I thought as I walked across the beach. The sea air used to help me clear my head when I was younger. Especially, when my parents died. I looked ahead and saw a figure sitting at the water's edge. As my steps grew closer, I began to recognize the man. The light of the sunrise created a mesmerizing image of Steve.

"What are you doing up this early?" I asked, startling him.

"I never went to bed actually." He answered. I sat down next to him.

"That makes two of us. I've been up all night." I looked out at the ocean. "I have a lot to think about, ya know?"

"Yeah. A choice I'm sure you never thought you'd have to make."

"My life in New York is so good. I have good friends, Tony and I'm using my powers for good." I sighed before opening my locket. "My parents would be proud of me. But, would they want me to abandon my home? I could help rebuild it and make it safer just as they did." Steve placed an arm on my shoulder.

"Maybe you're hanging on to what you want to be true so hard that you can't see what's actually true. The truth might not be so bad once you accept it. It just takes time to realize what you actually need to do." I placed my hand on top of his and looked at him.

"Maybe you're right, Steve. But how to you know what's truth and what's a fantasy?" he smiled at me softly.

"You have to figure that out on your own. It might take time but, you'll realize the truth." He grabbed my hand and moved it onto the sand. "Especially when it's staring you in the face." I squeezed his hand.

"What do you think I should do?" Soon violet eyes met blue.

"I know what I want you to do but, you'll hate yourself if you don't do what's right for you."

"Amara?" a voice called out. Whatever trance the Super Soldier and I were in was broken. I stood up quickly and turned to find the source of the voice. Malina.

"Malina." I stated once she got closer.

"What are you doing up?"

"I couldn't sleep so I came to the beach."

"Just like old times. I assume you are thinking about what Ali and Tai suggested."

"Yes but, I'm still unsure."

"Why don't you come for a ride on the boat? The sea air always used to help you think." I turned to the blonde haired man, then back to the woman.

"Can Steve come as well?"

"I suppose that would be alright." She turned and began walking away. "Are you two coming?" Steve stood up and held his hand out to me. I took it and we followed the brunet.

* * *

"The air feels so good this time of day." I spoke as I closed my eyes and let my heightened senses take over. _'It's just like when I was a child'_ I took a deep breath. _'I know what to do.'_ "Let's go back inside. I wanna tell Malina to take us back to shore. I've made a choice." We walked back inside the large boat. Steve looked like he was about to press the subject further. His eyes widened.

"Duck!" I barely processed the word before I felt my powers activate and teleport us across the room. I looked up to see that the Super Soldier shielded me with his body, knocking us both to the ground. "Are you okay, Amara?"

"I'm fine, Steve." We both stood up. "Wait. We've got to find Malina! Someone has taken over her boat. She's not safe." He nodded and we stealthily made our way to the hallway leading to the helm. Surprisingly, we made it without any trouble whatsoever. _'Something's not right'_ "Malina! The ship's being taken over. We've got to get you out of here."

"I'm right where I need to be." The woman stated. I started to walk toward her when she turned around and fired a weapon at me. There was a bright flash of light but, I didn't feel pain. _'What's happening?'_

"Malinalxochitl. What are you doing?" Steve came to stand beside me and lifted his shield up in front of us. The woman gave us a grin that didn't seem at all like my childhood friend.

"Talk!" the Super Soldier ordered.

"With pleasure. Take them!" she responded. We turned and saw the two who had to have fired at us before. My eyes widened when I saw what they were wearing. _'HYDRA!'_

"HYDRA." The men pointed their guns at us.

"Amara, do you ever wonder how HYDRA found you?" I nodded slowly. She smirked. "My family told them about you. We helped them find you that day in the forest." I was frozen on the spot. _'No….'_ The men fired at us. Cap threw me on the ground once he could tell I was still stunned.

"Amara!" I was still stunned. I felt so betrayed. Someone who was a friend to me when there were so few who would even talk to me. My parents took care of her when her parents were out at sea for extended periods of time. The Super Soldier threw his shield at the guards, knocking them over. I felt my body being lifted from the ground.

 _'My whole life was ruined…I lost my parents…I became a weapon…'_ I felt numb. My whole life felt like it was shattered. I could hear what might have been a voice but, I couldn't tell who it was.

 _'This shouldn't have happened to you.'_

 _'Huh?'_

 _'Someone with a heart like yours shouldn't have to suffer'_

 _'What do you mean?'_

 _'I want to fix your suffering. If you let me. You can't do this alone.'_

 _'You're right. Please help me.'_

 **~~~~~Captain America's POV~~~~~**

"Ace! Amara! Please answer me!" I shouted lowly at the blonde. I found a place in the cargo hold for us to regroup. After Malina told Amara that she was responsible for ruining her life, she hasn't been the same. As much as I want to retaliate, I had to get her out of there.

As far as I could tell there were only two HYDRA agents on board the ship. It was just them and Malina. When we get back to the island we have to warn the Elders that their safe haven isn't so safe. I bent down and looked at Amara's violet eyes that had become glazed over. They slowly began to close. "Amara! Don't close your eyes. Please get up!"

She slowly started to stand up, fists clenched. _'Something doesn't seem right…'_ As her eyes opened, I thought I saw a flash of light come and go through her violet orbs. I shook my head _'Now I know I'm being paranoid.'_ "Are you okay, Amara?"

"She's fine. Let's go! We have some unfinished business to attend to." Before I could question her, she grabbed my hand and pulled me out of our hiding place.

"Wait! Amara, we need a plan."

"Okay. We find those people and make them pay for what they did."

"We can't just go in without a solid plan. They know this ship better than we do." She stopped and put her hand over my mouth. Before I could prompt her, she rounded the corner. I hurried after her once I heard the sound of a fight.

"Her reflexes are faster than I thought." The HYDRA agent was on the ground and Amara was holding his gun. She tossed the gun aside and charged up light in her hand. "Let's make sure you stay put." A band of light appeared around him after the girl sent the light at the man. _'Since when has she been able to do that?'_

The man struggled but couldn't break free. "How many others are on this ship?" he wouldn't look at her. She placed a hand on him and forced him to face her. "Talk"

"There's only three more agents and the captain of the ship!" he blurted out. The expression on his face showed his shock.

"How did you get him to tell you that?" I asked skeptically. _'Amara can't do any of what I've seen so far.'_

"My time is limited, Captain. Now if your allies have hearts like yours or worse, they'll soon be joining you." She walked toward the corridor and shot off four balls of light. "You may wish to take a step away from the door, Captain." I did as she asked. And within minutes, three more HYDRA agents and Malina were dragged into the room by the light bands constricting them. Once their bands touched the first agent's, they combined together to form one big band that held them together.

"How did you…" before I could finish my thought, the blonde grabbed my hand and dragged me back to the deck of the boat.

"You two must flee. My task has been accomplished. Good luck." She closed her eyes and Amara's body went limp. I quickly caught the Avenger and held her in my arms.

 **~~~~~Ace's POV~~~~~**

I slowly began to open my eyes. Soon I met the concerned gaze of Captain America. _'What happened?'_

"Amara, are you okay?" he questioned.

"Yeah I think so. When did we get outside?" I responded as I looked around and saw the ocean all around us.

"You tell me. Once all the HYDRA agents and Malina were defeated you dragged me out here and said we had to leave." I shook my head and decided not to question it.

"Then what are we standing around for? Let's get out of here." I held my hand out to him. He looked at it a moment before taking it. I leapt into the air only to land back onto the ground. I tapped my glasses to get a read on my fuel levels. _'That crafty little…'_ "She hit me with an EMP which means all of my tech has been disabled. We're not getting off the S. anytime soon."

"We might be stuck but, we're not stranded. Come on. Let's get this boat back to the mainland." I nodded and followed him.

* * *

"I have to warn the Elders that their safe haven isn't as safe as they might think." I spoke as Steve and I walked on the docks.

"Who knows how many spies are in this town? The sooner we warn everyone, the sooner we can get these guys back to SHIELD. Or I'll make sure they get back to SHIELD. Depending on what choice you made." I looked away. _'Now's not the time.'_

We made our way back to the mainland in silence. Before we could reach the Elders, Ali came running toward us.

"Amara! Something has happened." The girl exclaimed. Cap and I exchanged an uneasy look. _'Please don't have anything to do with HYDRA.'_

"Ali, what's wrong?" I asked as I placed my hands on her shoulders.

"I awoke this morning to check on your friends. Everyone has disappeared including Tai."

"What could possibly take down four Avengers?" Cap interrupted.

"I do not know. I was running to find you. Is Tai going to be okay?"

"Why don't you come with us to speak with the Elders? I'm sure together we'll figure out what to do next." I suggested. Ali nodded and followed us. As we approached their compound, I spotted Necali. "Necali. It is urgent that we speak with the Elders."

"What is wrong?" the man asked.

"Amara and I were attacked by HYDRA agents under the command of Malina." Captain America clarified. He nodded in reply.

"Come. The Elders will want to discuss this with you. They are attending to other matters; I can lead you to them. Citlali, what are you doing here?"

"Taiyari and the rest of the heroes have gone missing."

"I see. Everyone follow me."

Necali led us to a part of my home that was very familiar. _'This is the path that leads to my childhood home.'_ I looked at the homes of my past neighbors. Where there was once life, now it was completely dead. The more we journeyed down this road, I felt uneasy. As if my fears manifested, my powers activated and created a barrier around Necali, Cap and myself. I turned around in shock to see Ali holding a weapon.

"Citlali, what is the meaning of this?" The Clatooan shouted.

"No…" I uttered in shock. _'What has been going on here while I was gone?'_

"It was my job to distract you long enough for us to get the weapon." She responded. My barrier fell and Captain America threw his shield, knocking the device out of Ali's hand and grabbed her by the shirt.

"Are you working for HYDRA?" the super soldier questioned.

"No. HYDRA has made life for my family and I difficult. I would never work with them." Ali spat. _'Then why would she..'_

"Ali, Latveria is not going to make things any better for you!" I exclaimed. Necali grabbed the girl and handcuffed her.

"I will watch her. Go. Warn the Elders and protect them." The man spoke. We nodded and continued on. I led Cap down the path that my gut was telling me to follow. I wasn't sure what we were going to find, but I knew whatever it was I couldn't risk it.

"Do you recognize this area?" Captain America asked.

"This is my old neighborhood." I answered.

"Why would he lead us here?"

"You'll see." Soon our path was blocked by a small house. 'I'm home'

"What is this place?"

"It's my childhood home." I took a deep breath in. "This isn't our destination. Come on." I rounded the corner and turned to see if he followed me.

"How do you know where they'll be?"

"Just a feeling I have." As we approached another building, a few of the men from yesterday outside of a building.

"State your business here." The man on the left stated.

"We need to speak to the Elders. The war has breached your borders." Cap answered.

"Not to mention I shouldn't need to have permission to enter land owned by my family." I added. The pair stepped aside. I looked at the Super Soldier and we both walked in the doorway.

"Amara!" A voice called out from behind us. We turned around and saw a frantic Tai. _'Wait where did he come from?'_

"Tai?" Captain America and I stopped to let my friend catch up.

"How did you find us?" the Super Soldier asked.

"I escaped and your friends told me to find you. I saw you both enter this building so I followed you." He responded.

"Shouldn't you lead us to them so we can rescue them?" Cap took a step toward Tai.

"There's no time. I saw the men who took your friends. I need to tell the Elders who these traitors are." The man took a step toward the Super Soldier. I quickly got between the pair.

"Okay. Let's all just calm down." The men changed their stances. "We're already here so I say we talk to the Elders." I stepped forward and kept walking. After a few seconds, a heard two sets of footsteps behind me. _'Can't those two focus on the big picture.'_

As I walked, I silenced my mind and focused my hearing to find the Elders. I took a deep breath in and closed my eyes. I let my senses take me through the rest of the building. I pushed back any emotions I felt about being back here. _'I have to focus'_ I released my breath and opened my eyes. _'Gotcha'_

A second before my eyes opened I heard the sound of an object hitting the ground. I turned around to see Captain America gripping Tai's wrist, a weapon at the man's feet. _'Tai…'_

"You too, Tai?" I uttered after a moment.

"I am sorry Amara. It is the only way to get rid of HYDRA once and for all. I have to do what's right for my family." Tai responded while fighting the Super Soldier's grip.

"What did you do to our friends?" Cap questioned.

"I will not say." The pain I felt from the betrayal was soon replaced with worry about my friends and surrogate brother along with anger at those who would hurt them. I took a step toward my childhood friend.

"Tai, tell me where they are." I spoke. He turned away from me. I placed my hand on his face and made him face me. "Tell me where my brother is or you won't have to worry about HYDRA because I will end you in the spot you stand." To illustrate my point, I slowly squeezed my hand. He grimaced slightly. I removed my hand.

"They are awaiting transport to Latveria."

"Where?"

"Eastern side of the beach. You will not make it there. There are more of us arriving to detain you both and the Elders."

"We'll see about that." I grabbed Cap's shield and knocked Tai over the head with it. I caught him as he fell. Tears were threatening to spill from my eyes.

"Why did you-" The Super Soldier began.

"Can't have him following us. Come on. We have to protect the elders." I walked forward toward the direction I sensed them in.

"Amara." He sped up to match my pace. He blocked my path and put his hands on my shoulders. "Amara, are you okay?"

"No, Steve, I'm not. My life is slowly unraveling but, I can't stop and think about that right now."

"I know but, you can't let everything stay bottled up."

"What am I supposed to do? Let it consume me. Do you wanna know how I survived all those years? I pushed past the pain. I used it to fuel me so I could survive."

"Then promise me one thing." I raised an eyebrow. "When all of this is over, please let yourself feel. You've gotten a second chance at life, you don't have to prove your strength." I nodded.

"Fine." He smiled. "But we've gotta keep moving."

* * *

"Elders!" I called out once we found the room they were in. The trio turned to look at Captain America and me.

"What is the meaning of this?" Surem barked.

"You're all in danger. The Latverian sympathists are on their way to seize you three." The Super Soldier informed.

"What? So soon?" Iktan exclaimed.

"Wait you knew there were spies in your domain?" I questioned.

"We weren't sure who they were but, nothing occurs here without the knowledge of the Clatooan loyalists."

"What were you doing in here anyway?" Cap asked.

"There are some important items here that cannot be found by either side."

"Such as?"

"We don't have to answer that question." Surem stated.

"Elder's this building and all of its contents belong to Jackson and Allison Castile. As long as a living member of a family exists, their property is not owned by Clatooans. You are trespassing on my property." I reprimanded.

"Anything in this lab. Your parents left behind several blueprints, prototypes and journals. If either side gets their hands on them, Clatoo and possibly the world is finished." Achcauhtli answered after a moment.

"What were you planning on doing with these items?"

"Gathering everything and hiding it elsewhere."

"They would see you leaving and know something was wrong." Steve responded.

"It's all we can do to keep people safe." Surem replied.

"You might unintentionally give them what they want most."

"Enough." I called out. Both men stopped and the whole room focused in on me. "I'll take everything with me back to New York. This way you all are safe and I get to keep a piece of my parents."

"Brilliant idea." Iktan exclaimed. I smiled before testing my tech.

"Looks like I'm back online." I pulled a small box from my belt. I walked around the room and picked up a small prototype. I held it up to the box and pushed a button. A bright light flashed and the object was gone. This gadget was a collaboration with Ant Man. He helped me figure out my portable storage box by adding Pym Particles to shrink the objects at the push of a button. The material on the box is able to contain just about any type of material. There are still a few kinks in it but for this task, it was perfect. I continued around until everything was inside the box.

"You truly are your parents' daughter." Achcauhtli marveled.

"Come on. We've got to save our friends."

"How do we get to the east side of the island before they're taken to Latveria?" Cap asked.

"You're right. We'll never make it in time."

"Allow me." Iktan stated. He nodded to Surem who helped him move a large desk. Behind it was a tunnel entrance. "Take this tunnel. At the divide take the left tunnel. You'll arrive at the east beach in no time."

"Thank you. Are you coming with us?"

"This is where we make our stand, child. We will hold them off so you may escape." Surem spoke. My eyes widened in shock. I nodded in understanding.

"I won't let your sacrifice be in vain. I'll do what I can from the outside to honor you." I bowed. I stood back up and turned to Steve. "Let's go." The Super Soldier and I walked through the tunnel. I turned back to the entrance just as it was covered back up. He grabbed my hand and led me through the passage.

* * *

"There's the ship!" Captain America exclaimed as we crouched behind some bushes.

"We've gotta get inside." I stated.

"Right." We turned to each other and nodded. We quietly and quickly moved toward the vessel. Once we were close enough, I picked up one of my flash bombs. I set a timer on it and tossed it in the opposite direction. In a few seconds, a bright blast of light filled the area. The guards rushed toward it, leaving the ship entrance unprotected. We quickly sprinted into the ship.

* * *

"Found them! They're over here." Captain America called out. I finished hacking the security cameras to loop the feed before joining him. Each of our friends were in a small chamber, unconscious. "What could they be using to knock out even Hulk?"

"Let's find out, shall we?" I began before tapping my tech. "JARVIS, are you seeing these scans?"

"Indeed. They appear to have ingested large amounts of a type of melatonin hybrid." The AI stated.

"They must have slipped it into our food at dinner."

"We ate the same food they did, why weren't we affected?" Cap asked.

"According to these scans the chemical is activated upon the subject entering R.E.M. cycle. We weren't affected because we didn't go to sleep at all last night." _'I gotta figure out how to counter act it, or at least move them.'_

"Is there a way we can wake them up?"

"JARVIS? Any ideas on how to safely wake them?"

"My sensors indicate that the chambers are being filled with chemicals to keep them in R.E.M." JARVIS answered.

"So if we can disconnect the chambers they'll be able to wake up on their own. The problem is there's no clue as to just how long it'll take for them to wake up."

"We need a plan and fast. Those guards won't be gone for long." The Super Soldier remarked _'I got it!'_ I quickly walked over to the back of the chambers. I charged up a ball of light in my hand. _'That should be strong enough'_ I released the plasma blast and destroyed the connection to the ship.

"I'm going to put the chambers in my storage cube."

"Wait won't that be dangerous for them?"

"Not if I take them out as soon as we get back to the Aveng-Jet. Pym Particles are safe on people." I pulled out the box and set in front of each chamber one by one. "Let's get out of here." I placed the box back in its place.

* * *

"I think we finally lost them." I stated, catching my breath. I went to the back compartment of Aveng-Jet. I pushed in a combination of numbers and stepped back as each chamber reappeared at full size.

"I input the coordinates to get us home." Steve said as he approached me. "If you want to get a little rest I can set the auto pilot."

"Thanks Steve but, I'm okay to fly us back." I walked over to Tony's chamber and punched it open. _'That's for being betrayed by Malina when I was a child.'_ I stepped over to Sam's and repeated the process. _'That's for being betrayed by Malina today.'_ I punched open Clint's chamber. _'That's for Tai betraying me.'_ I punched Hulk's chamber once. _'That's for Iktan's sacrifice.'_ Twice. _'Achcauhtli's sacrifice.'_ Finally, on the third attempt it cracked open. _'Surem's sacrifice.'_

"Are you sure you're fine, Amara?" he pressed placing his hands on my shoulders. I looked up and blue eyes met violet.

"I'm sure." I continued out of the room and to the front of the jet. I started up the jet and began our flight back to New York. I kept my eyes focused on the path in front of me, never looking back at what was once my home.

* * *

"Are you ready to do this, Mari?" Tony asked a few days later. I nodded my head before following him into the commons area.

"Hey guys! I've got an announcement to make." I called out causing everyone to look at me. "After everything that happened on Clatoo, I've decided to make a huge change. Everything I thought I knew came crashing down except for one thing, the fact that you guys are there for me. I can't get caught up in my past any more. I'm ready to move on. So I've decid—"

"Mara, you're monologuing." Sam stated making me sheepish.

"I changed my name from Amara Castile to Amara Stark."

"She's officially my little sister." Tony said before slinging an arm around me.

"But she has taken your name. Does that not make her your wife?" Thor questioned.

"No!" My brother and I shout at the same time. "No offense."

"It's not possible to adopt someone as your sibling." Clint commented.

"When you've got as much money and connections as I do, anything is possible." Our leader stated.

"So now we've got Stark and Starkette." I rolled my eyes at the new nickname. The boys started arguing over Tony adding a branch called 'Stark and Starkette.' I moved downstairs to the kitchen.

* * *

"So was this the decision you made on the island?" Steve asked curiously.

"That will forever be my little secret." I responded with a smirk. He raised an eyebrow. "I have however been thinking about changing my name for a while now. After everything I thought it was time."

"I'm happy for you, Starkette." He walked away with a chuckle while I rolled my eyes. _'This is the beginning of a new chapter for me. One that's been a long time coming. Even if I recieved a new nickname out of it.'_

* * *

 **Hey guys! Sorry I've been MIA for a while. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this new chapter. This is the first of many original chapters that I'll be incorporating in this story. I hope you paid attention to some of the details because they will come back in a later chapter. Let me know how you liked this one so I can try to make my original chapters better. Just a reminder guys that if you have a favorite episode please let me know and I'll be sure not to skip it otherwise I make no promises that it'll be included.** **Shout out time!**

 **Thank you to angel de acuario, Armorman 452 and IncorruptusUser for favoriting, matayin and Daughter of Ironman06 for following and JFR123, FireChild24 and Xshadowvninjax for favoriting and following!**

 **Review time!**

 **JFR123: Thank you! I'm glad you like hearing what she's thinking and her reactions to the Avenger's antics.  
**

 **Jfr123: You actually guessed most of the ones I'm skipping. I won't say which ones. Glad you're liking the story.**

 **His-Lady-Outlaw: When I saw that episode I started thinking about how Amara would react. Hopefully it will meet your expectations. Sorry about the delay. Original chapters tend to take longer for me to write. I should be back on track with a new chapter soon.**

 **KaijudoFan101: You'll get the chance to see a little bit of just how the mentorship is going. Trust me when I say it'll make a certain episode more interesting.**

 **Thank you all so much for the response to this story and all the kind words! You guys rock! Anyway please review (No flames please!), follow and favorite if you like. Have a great day/night!**


	10. Hulked Out Heroes

**Hulked-Out Heroes**

I heard a large rumbling noise. I rushed out the door of my room toward the roof. Tony was working on a project. _'Hopefully this won't cause another blackout'_

"Please tell me you didn't blow up another generator." I called out as I spotted my brother and a machine hanging off the side of Avengers Tower.

"You cause one partial city blackout and you never hear the end of it." He mumbled rolling his eyes. I walked over to the machine and started pulling it back onto the roof. "Hulk was supposed help me with that but, then he stormed off."

"Sounds like he found something else to do. Something loud and destructive." Tony sighed.

"I'll call the others. While there's still a city left."

* * *

I led the team through the city on a Hulk hunt. I followed the sounds of destruction. Soon I spotted two red figures and a familiar green figure. _'The Blood Brothers'_

"There they are!" I called over the comns.

"I got it." Hawkeye responded before shooting an arrow at the trio. "What is this? New episode of Christmas Colors Gone Wild?"

"They want to smash. Hulk smashes better!" the green giant stated.

"You're the best there is at what you do." The archer shot two arrows at the villains who knocked them back toward the archer. The explosion created knocked out the archer.

"I'm the only one that gets to knock out Hawkeye!" I quickly flew down to check on the archer and help Hulk.

"Now?" one the brothers questioned.

"Not yet." The other answered. _'What are they planning?'_ I charged up a ball of light and smirked when I noticed a figure in the air. Captain America's shield flew through the air and took out one Blood Brother. While the other was distracted I sent the light at him, sending him back.

"Mind if we tag in?" Cap asked as he, Iron Man and Falcon appeared.

"It's like a mutated Christmas tree threw up all over 23rd Street." Iron Man remarked. I noticed Hawkeye stirring and walked over to help him up.

"Already cracked that one. And something else. Ow." The archer commented.

"Want to fight?" the green giant called as he charged toward the pair of villains. Hulk grabbed one of the brothers and threw him onto the ground. The other Blood Brother jumped on Hulk's back, holding his arms back. He looked up just as his brother got up. A moment after he knocked Hulk onto the ground, the other brother body slammed the green giant.

"The Blood Brothers, alien wrestling washouts. Now they're intergalactic thugs for hire." Our leader observed. The brothers were close to bringing the green giant down. I moved from the boys and started making my way to help Hulk.

"Now?" One of the brothers asked as they had the green giant on the ground. I charged up my light as I approached them.

"Yeah now." His brother asked before placing a device on the Avenger and activating it. "Sayonara, suckers." I shot my light balls at them as they flipped over them. I hurried to get closer to help Hulk as electricity crackled all over him.

"Hulk, let me see that." Iron Man stated making the green giant roar. Hulk got up and tried to follow the Blood Brothers. I reached into my pocket and threw two items at them, catching their attention. The pair started to throw cars in all directions.

"Hulk, stop. We'll catch them later." I tried to reason standing in front of him.

"Outta the way." Hulk demanded trying to push me out of the way. I grabbed his arm and pushed back, making him angrier.

"They're trying to cover their escape." Falcon observed before sending his feathers at them. He pushed me back a few feet but I wasn't giving up. I pushed him back slightly.

"Hulk, disengage. We have to scan that thing on your…" Iron Man tried. Hulk and I were still in a stalemate. "Who am I talking to? Stop!" My brother fired one of his attacks at us. I let go of Hulk and jumped out of the away. Hulk used the opportunity to go after his foes. The electricity started up again and sent the green giant to the ground. We all hurried to check on him.

"Is it a weapon?" Captain America asked.

"It's using the Hulk's gamma energy to power up."

"Biotanks." I added. A moment after that word came out of my mouth, I found myself standing two blocks away from them. _'Why'd my powers activate?'_ As if to answer my question, a green cloud started to fill the area. _'Oh no!'_ I ran toward the rest of the Avengers. I felt my body shift to metal and cover my mouth and nose once I approached the green cloud.

"Falcon, funnel now!"

"Oh, boy." Falcon coughed before taking flight. The cloud turned into a tunnel before disappearing. I looked up and noticed a car loosely lodged into a building. Just as I was about to save the people below. Hawkeye ran and pushed them out of the way.

"Hawkeye!" Cap shouted as we watched the car crush the archer. I ran toward him followed by the Super Soldier and our leader. Just as I was about to lift the car, it flew into the air.

"I funneled that gas into space." Falcon stated as he landed. My eyes widened at the sight before us. _'What the…'_ "What was it?" Falc turned around "Whoa! That's not good."

"Thank you, Falcon."

"Stupid falling cars." Hawkeye remarked while rubbing his head. The archer looked fine except for his Hulk-like appearance. _'Oh boy.'_

* * *

I looked over the samples I gathered from everyone. My powers were still protecting me from whatever this virus is. Tony is calling it 'Gamma Flu' and we learned it's airborne. Symptoms include green skin, increased muscle mass, strength, hunger and temperament and a decrease in intelligence. I've been trying to research a cure but, with a Hulked-out Tony its going slower than I'd like.

"Sir, Black Widow is attempting to breach the lockdown." JARVIS stated, pulling up the security feed.

"Patch me through to her." Tony responded after a long sigh. After a moment the assassin appeared on a holo-screen. "Sorry, Natasha, that's not such a hot idea. We're feeling a little green around the gills here." I groaned at the pun. "You can laugh, go ahead."

"I am laughing, inside. What happened?" Black Widow asked.

"Biological weapon, gamma energy. We dispersed it into space but not before catching a dose of 'Gamma Flu' I'm running tests." I cleared my throat. "Sorry. We're running tests."

"I'm coming in."

"No!"

"Tony. Take a breath." I spoke calmly.

"I mean, no, please."

"Why don't you go check how compound c14 is doing against the virus?" Tony sighed before walking away. "Look, it's airborne. When we came back, Thor got infected too. We're locking down the tower until we can find a cure. Sorry." I ended the transmission. I turned around to see my brother punch a hole in the wall. I rubbed my temples. _'This is gonna be a long night.'_

"Why isn't it working?!"

"Tony, you can't react like that around the samples. Look why don't you scan for any possible combinations we haven't tried yet?" he grumbled before sulking to the computer. I check to make sure none of the samples were damaged. _'Looks like I've got to restart four of these.'_

"Okay, biological. Gamma. Gamma energy carried on…"

"I'm searching for the virus in your blood stream, sir." Jarvis informed. _'JARVIS don't tell him to calm down.'_ I thought as I poured two chemicals together. "Remember not…"

"I know!" Iron Man threw a chair into the ceiling. _'Oh no.'_

"Tony." I turned around to find Natasha standing behind my brother.

"Natasha?" I put the mixture down and rushed toward the pair. "I told you to…" I placed a hand between him and the red-haired woman.

"Stop. Clearly time is the enemy. What's happening and how do I help?"

"It's a virus infused with gamma energy. Once in the blood stream it simulates the effects of Hulk-ish-ness. Hulk-osity?"

"Worse. The virus is unstable. If the gamma energy isn't dispersed, it will build to critical levels. And the Avengers will detonate." JARVIS chimed in.

"Don't interrupt me!" Tony swatted at the holoscreen. "Stupid computer." My brother started punching more angrily. I pushed Natasha to the ground and we watched him pummel the device to smithereens. The angrier he got, the more his suit broke due to the increased muscle mass.

"Tony?" the assassin called.

"Ton. Tony? Tony!" I shouted. He turned toward us slowly.

"Stark smash!" He exclaimed before roaring. I stood up and blocked his path to the human. "Stark fix! Leave Stark alone!" He fired a blast at us. Luckily, my powers activated and created a barrier around us. This only made him madder because he charged toward us while firing. _'Can't fight him or I'll risk harming Nat and any chance we have of a cure.'_ We ran out of the lab, Iron Hulk hot on our heels.

"You have to get out of here." The red-haired woman glared at me.

"No! I'm not going anywhere when there's a chance they will explode. You need all the help you can get." She responded as we kept running.

"I can't fight him in this type of closed environment while making sure he doesn't crush you."

"I can take care of myself!"

"I'm not denying that. I'm strong enough to hold him down and knock him out. You unfortunately, don't have the same enhancements I do."

* * *

We continued running until we reached a door. I hit the button sealing it shut behind us. We stopped to catch our breath. As we looked further into the room we noticed Hulk, Falcon, Hawkeye, Thor and Captain America. The later all Hulk-ified.

"Oh, no." Natasha breathed. I could hear a noise heading straight for us. I grabbed the assassin's hand just as my powers activated and teleported us away from the wall. It crumbled seconds later as Iron Hulk came barreling through, stopping in front of Thor. The Asgardian hit him with his hammer, knocking him into Cap's shield. The Super Soldier moved Tony aside as Thor charged at him.

My brother tried to shoot an attack at Hawkeye. The archer dodged it making it nearly hit Falcon. _'This can't be good.'_ As if proving my point, the trio engaged in battle. I felt a hand on my shoulder. Just as I was about to hit the person with one of my light balls, I came face to face with the Hulk. I calmed down.

"It's different seeing me from your side. That's why everyone's so mad at me all the time?" The green giant commented.

"Widow!" Hulkeye called out.

"Always spying on us." Iron Hulk added.

"Fury's pet." FalcHulk mocked. The trio started making their way toward us. I placed a hand that was charging up light in front of them.

"Easy, boys." She responded putting her hands up.

"I need you to listen. You're sick. If you don't let me find a cure—" I stated.

"—You'll…well, explode." I noticed we had slowly become cornered. I shot a blast of light at their feet as a warning shot. Tony growled before charging up an attack of his own.

"No talk! Go!" Captain America exclaimed as he threw his shield at my brother. His attack was deflected. Before I could grab Black Widow, Hulk grabbed us both and jumped out of the building. I quickly hacked the building to seal the hole. _'That won't stop them for long.'_ We landed on the roof top and the green giant released us.

"Hulk, this is an A.I.M. viral weapon. If we don't cure them now…"

"Boom." Hulk finished for the assassin, surprising her. "Gamma expert, remember?"

"You've gotta give him more credit than that, Nat." I paused as I looked over the readings from the samples. "Hulk knows what's going on. In fact, I asked him to keep the others calm while I worked. I thought that maybe if it was triggered by an emotional response he could get them down to a point that might not cause their doom." Widow's watch beeped.

"Widow?" Fury's voice called out. She covered her watch before walking away from us. Hulk and exchanged a look.

"Hold that thought." She spoke. "Fury this is not a good time." Her voice changed to a whisper. _'Did she forget I have enhanced senses?'_

"How're the Hulk and Ace contingencies coming along? Ready to give me the memory drive back yet?" he questioned. _'Contingency? Memory drive?'_

"Contingency plan?" Hulk and I demanded after we walked over to the red-haired woman.

"Until five minutes ago I was the only hulk in the tower." The green giant stated. He started to walk away. "You lookin' for a way to shut me down too."

"Hulk, I…" she trailed off, unsure what to say.

"And let me guess I'm too dangerous and because of my history Fury doesn't want to let a potential threat roam around freely?" I spoke. She looked at me, her face confirming I was right. "That's what I thought." I hurried after the green giant.

"Make sure they stay inside. They don't, you'll need that contingency." He cautioned the assassin. Hulk turned to me. "You coming?"

"I'm gonna try to find a cure. My brother is counting on me." I turned to Natasha. "Some people can be trusted to help their friends." Hulk jumped off the building.

"Wait." She tried before he left.

"JARVIS, give me a status update." I stated pulling up my files once more before walking away. I heard her sigh.

"The infected Avengers are currently trying to punch a hole in the wall to create a means of escape." The AI informed me.

"And so far, none of the samples have completely removed the virus."

"Samples c17, d43 and d48 stopped the virus for five minutes before accelerating the process and exploding."

"There are four common strains in each compound. If I can isolate the parts that cause the exploding and separate them from the virus stoppers, then I might be on to something. Unless the combination of the strains is what's stopping it and exploding is an inevitable side effect."

"Amara, you're brilliant." Natasha stated as she walked toward me, her helmet off. I looked at her, waiting for her to continue. "But, by the time you analyze each strand of samples, it might be too late. Our best chance is if we find Hulk and work together. He is the gamma expert." _'I hate to admit it but, she's right.'_

"You're right. I'll go find him and we'll find a solution."

"I'll go with you. We can take my car and track Hulk."

"Why? So, you can take us both down?"

"I deserved that."

"JARVIS, I need a location on Hulk."

"I'm sorry, Ms. Stark, I'm a little preoccupied with keeping the Avengers from breaking out." The AI responded. _'Of course, he is.'_

"Fine. We'll use your car to track him." I charged up a ball of light and placed my hand in front of her. "If you try anything that could jeopardize saving our friends, I won't hesitate to give you a reason to try to use that contingency." I stopped the light and she nodded.

* * *

We found Hulk digging through dirt and rock outside of the city. Natasha parked the car and we both got out. _'It looks like he's getting his aggression out.'_

"This is gonna go well." She sighed as we approached the green giant. "Hulk? Hulk, what are you doing? Why are we in the middle of nowhere?" he ignored her and kept digging. "Talk to me!"

"Talk to you? Can't trust you." He spat back.

"Me? I…"

"Avengers or S.H.I.E.L.D? Fury or us?" he trained his eyes on me. "She cut you a deal?"

"No. JARVIS was too busy to track your location, so I needed a lift. Nothing more, nothing less. All that matters to me is saving my brother and our friends." I turned to the assassin. "I know where my loyalties lie. I also knew you were the only one with a plan."

"She understands. I'm angry, not dumb."

"I guess that's fair." Natasha stated.

"Tell the truth. One. A real truth."

"Before today, I didn't really trust you both either." She turned to Hulk. "I thought you were like a cornered animal ready to snap at the closest hand." She turned to me. "I thought you were a sleeper agent, waiting until everyone's guard was done to strike." I glared at her.

I made sure years ago I didn't have any unknown programming in my head. I visited the most powerful telepath, Professor Charles Xavier. He scanned my mind and cleared up anything that could harm anyone. _'I guess some people will never believe HYDRA isn't a part of who I am'_ Black Widow looked back at the green giant. "But while everyone else is acting like monsters, you're not. You're the only one in control."

"Always in control. Have to be. Otherwise I'd be like them. I'm not like them." He punched into the rock again.

"Do you ever wonder why my powers don't send me away from him even if he's angrier than usual? Its because my body doesn't see him as a threat. If he wasn't in control, I physically wouldn't be able to work with him. That's how I knew he was the one to turn to during this disaster." I spoke making the woman think. Hulk pulled a device out of the hole he made. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Banner made it. I hid it." He handed the device to the red-haired woman.

"It's light. What does it do?" she questioned.

"Gamma energy siphon." Hulk and I answered at the same time.

"This will destroy the gamma virus and the Avengers will go back to being puny." The green giant concluded as I nodded.

"I knew you had a plan."

"Wait. What would this thing do to you?" she inquired.

"I'm practically a gamma reactor. Turn this thing on me, it would turn me to ash." Hulk answered before walking away. I followed his lead. "Come on, they're just gonna get stronger." _'I hope we're not too late'_

* * *

"Understand the plan?" Hulk asked as we flew over New York toward Avengers Tower.

"So simple even a S.H.I.E.L.D agent can handle it." Black Widow responded as I nodded. "We sneak back into the tower and take them out one by one, so long as it stays contained." An explosion rang out below us. _'She just had to jinx us.'_ The infected Avengers appeared out of the destroyed wall and onto the roof.

"Avengers, smash!" Captain Hulk cried out before the group leapt off the building toward our vehicle. I felt my powers teleport me onto the rooftop.

"Ms. Stark, the Avengers have escaped the tower." JARVIS informed me. I facepalmed.

"I can see that JARVIS. Luckily, we have a way to cure them." I responded.

"Widow! Ace!" Hulk called out as the majority managed to pull him to the ground. Black Widow had Hulkeye and FalcHulk to deal with. I activated my rocket boots and flew toward the assassin. My eyes widened as the car crashed into a roof. _'No!'_ I quickened my pace and found the red-haired woman crawling from underneath it. She and I locked eyes before both turning to see the device away from her. Before she could run to it, FalcHulk was right above her. I quickly shot out a few light balls at him, knocking him into the car. _'Feels good not holding back.'_

I looked as the archer cornered the assassin. Just as I was about to hit him with an attack, Hulk punched him out of the way. I landed next to the pair, light in hand. Suddenly, Iron Hulk, ThorHulk and Captain Hulk joined us on the roof as did an angrier FalcHulk. Hulk grabbed my best friend and threw him into the trio, removing them from the building. I walked over and picked up the device after deactivating one hand.

"We smash. You give them their medicine." Hulk said as he motioned me to give the machine to Natasha. I handed it over to her.

"Hey!" we turned at the sound of Hulkeye's voice. He started walking toward us. "Been waiting for this."

"You won't enjoy it as much as I will." Hulk popped his neck in preparation. He tapped a finger against his chin. The archer took the bait and charged. "Always worry about hurting people. Always hold back. Not now." He spoke between punches. He grabbed the next punch. "Now!" he used his other hand to punch Hulkeye. "Hulk unleash!" He hit him in the back, making the building crumble beneath, catching his feet. Hulk held the archer in place. "Zap him! Not me!" She walked forward and I watched, ready to help if need be. _'This is the moment we find out who Natasha is really helping.'_ Green electricity sparked as she touched the archer, returning him to normal. The four remaining infected Avengers jumped back onto the roof. "Too many. Need to think them out."

"What were you thinking?" Black Widow questioned.

"Do you trust me?"

"Yes?"

"Then meet us on the street." The green giant tossed the assassin into the air.

"I'll take the two on the left if you've got the two on the right." I stated, reactivating the light in my right hand.

"Try to keep up." He growled as the four charged at us. I shot a light beam at FalcHulk, knocking him into Iron Hulk and the pair off the building. I flew after them. The pair jumped up simultaneously and punched me into a wall. The punched me repeatedly before I managed to push them back with a beam of light. Tony charged at me again, trying to punch me, but this time I was ready. I grabbed his fist and felt my strength kick in as I tossed him a few blocks away. Sam tried to catch me by surprise from the air. I charged up my light as I evaded him in the skies.

"Falcon gonna crush Ace."

"Falcon has to catch Ace first!" I called back with a smirk. He took the bait and flew faster toward me. "Too slow." He was right behind me as I unleashed a powerful beam that knocked him out of the sky and into a car. I flew down and quickly compressed the car he landed in around him.

"My turn." Widow called as she appeared. She jumped onto the car and touched Falcon with the device. Green electricity crackled as my best friend was returned to normal.

"Its about time." I smirked at her.

"Hulk thought I could use a swim."

"I've got a brother to chase down. Hulk's right around the corner and probably has Captain America and Thor on the ropes by now." I flew back into the air to find where I threw my brother. _'Maybe this wasn't the best plan.'_ As if on cue, Tony ran back at me hard, knocking us both in the direction Hulk and Widow were. I ended up in what used to be a store. I opened my eyes just and saw Black Widow extending a hand. I took it and stood up.

"We're out of time." She stated as my powers teleported us to Hulk as an angrier Iron Hulk tried to smash us.

"They're going full gamma." Thor and Tony started glowing green and sounded like they were in pain. _'Tony, no!'_ We charged at them as they charged at us. I turned to Hulk who nodded, knowing who I was going for. I fired a beam at Tony while he jumped into the air and punched Thor in the head. I had my brother pinned against a building, my attack not letting up. "Any day now, Widow." She ran up and stood on his shoulders, careful not to touch the light.

As soon as I saw the green electricity I stopped my attack. I rushed to catch him as he fell toward the rubble. I noticed a band of light surrounding him. _'How'd that happen?'_ I placed him on the ground and turned toward Hulk and Thor. Hulk punched Thor, sending him flying. He saw a truck and threw that onto his opponent, making it explode. He beat his chest and roared.

"Hulk strongest there is!" he shouted. He pointed toward us. "You saw." I noticed the assassin looking at he device then back at Hulk. 'Is she seriously thinking what I think she's thinking?' I created a small ball of light, just enough to knock her out if she tries anything. "Thor owes me $5 when he wakes up." I giggled slightly at his antics, recalling the bet. Widow calmed down and I deactivated the light in my hand. She walked over to the Asgardian and used the device to return him to normal.

"That was easy. Want to go punch Galactus in the face for dessert?" the assassin quipped. The three of us fell back in exhaustion. Even with my healing factor I felt drained for some reason. _'Must have been the new power'_

* * *

"Walk me through this again, from the top." Nick Fury demanded as the city was being repaired due to the Gamma Flu incident.

"Bad guy's plan foiled. Heroes save the day. Classic good conquers evil." Natasha explained.

"And just how exactly did you de-power the hulked-out Avengers?" She slyly moved a piece of the device out of Fury's line of sight.

"The Avengers have a contingency plan for this sort of event. Our resident expert, he's called the Hulk. He and Ace created the plan themselves." We both smiled at the director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

"Ugh. And the memory drive?"

"A little destroyed, sir. An unexpected swim." She pulled out the damaged piece of tech.

"That's what you're putting in the report?" the assassin smirked before handing over the drive. "Okay then." He began to walk away. "Good work not blowing up New York again."

"You're not going to tell him about the device?" the green giant questioned.

"We're Avengers, we watch each other's backs. No matter how big and green those backs get. Far as I'm concerned, this doesn't exist." I smiled. I'm glad she's finally made her choice.

"No it exists. But now people I trust will know where I hid it, just in case."

"I'm sorry I was so harsh to you earlier. Its just I've finally found my place and people I can trust. I'd fight anyone if it meant keeping them safe." I apologized.

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have judged you for your past. Hawkeye told me what happened on Clatoo. I should have taken his word for it."

"At least now you know you've got someone like me watching your back." I winked.

"Need a lift?" Hulk asked us.

"My car did get smashed." She stated. She turned to me. "You coming?"

"Nah I kinda have to free Tony and I'm not sure exactly how." The pair nodded before taking off.

* * *

I walked to the area the Avengers were at. They slowly began waking up. I moved Sam earlier once I was back to full strength.

"Do I have a killer headache." Sam stated rubbing his head.

"Head? My stomach is killing me. Feels like I ate a horse." Clint added. I giggled. _'Try a fridge full of food.'_

"Honestly, does my helmet look stupid?" Thor asked as he stared at it. _'Where did he get that idea from?'_

"Uh, Mari?" I turned around and spotted my brother, still in the light band. "Is this your handy work?" I walked over and looked at it.

"I think so. I'm not exactly sure how I did it nor how to reverse it." I touched the band of light. "Maybe if I…" I created a smaller light ball in my left hand and touched it to the band. In a flash of light it was gone. _'Why do I feel energized?'_ I walked him over toward Steve turned around as my gaze caught his. It was as if he was shaking away a thought. _'Wonder what that was about?'_

"You know, I never realized what it must be like to be him every day. All that rage. That power."

"And we couldn't do anything to contain it." The super solder finished for him. He smiled. "He said it before. Hulk's the strongest one there is."

"He has to be." I spoke looking at the sky. I smiled softly as I saw Hulk and Widow jump through the air. "He does it so he doesn't hurt the people he trusts and cares about. That much control takes time and strength to build up." I felt a hand on each shoulder. I turned to my left and saw Tony grinning at me. On my right I was met with Steve's smile.

"The good thing is, neither of you have to do it alone." My brother stated.

"You have us to help you. Just like you have our backs, we have yours." Steve added. I smiled. _'They're right. None of us are alone anymore.'_

* * *

 **Hey guys! Sorry I've been MIA for a while. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this new chapter. Just a reminder guys that if you have a favorite episode please let me know and I'll be sure not to skip it otherwise I make no promises that it'll be included.** **Shout out time!**

 **Thank you to ShadowPhoenix34 and Childhood-Dreams for following and **KaijuBoy455 and** **jdkeller2000** for favoriting and following!**

 **Review time!**

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 **This brings up a good point, what would be a good ship name for Captain America and Ace? Leave your ideas in the comments and maybe I'll set up a poll.**

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